Broken Down
by Isabel164
Summary: 8x24 Plane Crash Fiction. The doctors try to survive after their plane crashed but with no immediate help on their way, will the doctors make it out all alive? This story follows the docs after their plane crashed and beyond. Mostly MerDer but other characters are involved including Lexie who will live in my story!
1. Chapter 1

**Broken Down **

_Author's Note: _

_Hi! Welcome to my third story: 'Broken Down'. This story takes place immediately after the plane crashed and will let you feel and see how all of the docs survive there in the woods without any immediate help on the way. The story will be about 15-20 chapters I think and will also follow the docs after they're rescued. It's mostly a MerDer story so that's where the main focus will be on but other characters will also appear in the story. For all the Lexie fans out here, a nice thought, she will live in my story ;) _

_Oh, and the start of this story is not completely the way it went in the season's finale. Most dialogues are the same but not all of them and some scenes from the finale I didn't include into this story so there are some new scenes I added and not everyone has the same injuries as in the season's finale. So there are some inconsistencies with the finale and my story but I try to make it as real and equal as possible. _

_Also, If you detect any grammar faults or inconveniences, my apologies, English is not my first language. I just graduated from High School like a few weeks ago and still has to learn a lot about writing. _

_For now I can only say, enjoy the first chapter and I hope to read your thoughts and/or suggestions on my story. _

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel _

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 1: Screaming Silence**

Silence. It was the only thing that could be heard throughout the forest, but could you theoretically seen even hear silence? She didn't know. There were absolutely no screams heard, nothing at all, only the deathly silence that made her insides scream. Was everyone still alive?

''Arghh'' She grunted as she slowly tried to get into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and tried to take in the situation she was in. What she saw shocked her through her bones. Pieces of the plane lay everywhere, the smell of kerosene making her nauseous.

''Derek!... Mark!... Lexie!... Anyone!'' She screamed but she got no response.

''Cristina!'' But when she yet again got no response her hope was slowly seeping out of her veins. She started thinking about the worst despite knowing that that was the last thing you should do in such situations. 'Maybe they're just not awake yet, they can't be dead can they?' she thought to herself. She grew up with dead and family members abandoning her. The universe couldn't possibly give her another blow. Could they?

As she was about to stand up to go looking for them a searing pain snapped her back to reality. She averted her eyes to where the pain was coming from and it was only then that she saw the piece of metal sticking out of her leg. She was deciding whether to take it out or leave it in and came to the conclusion that in case of infection it was better to take it out now and wrap a piece of clothing around the wound to stop the bleeding.

She was about to take the thing out when she heard the rustling of leaves in front of her. She looked up and saw her friend walking up to her. ''Mer, thank god you're okay'' She said. C

''Cristina! Do you know where Derek is?'' She asked worried and didn't seem to care about the injuries of her person who was holding her arm securely to her side.

''No..'' She said out of breath. ''He..he was sucked out the side when we hit the trees and the back of the plane came off, it.. it came off!''

''Lexie was in the back of the plane!'' Meredith said worried, her eyes tearing up at the thought of the possibility of both losing her sister and husband at the same time.

She looked at her leg again and pulled out the piece of metal in one move, a moan of pain escaping her mouth when she did so and wrapped a piece of clothing around the wound to stop if from bleeding.

''Where is she? Cristina!'' She asked her friend who was frantically looking around her, her eyes focusing on nothing particular at all.

''I don't know, I only have one shoe!'' She screamed.

''Shut up, shut up!'' Cristina screamed a few seconds later and it was only then that Meredith realized that someone was screaming and she looked behind her, seeing Arizona trapped under a huge piece of plain, her face smeared with dried blood and her eyes radiating her fair. Her fair of dying and that way leaving her beautiful wife Callie and their daughter Sophia behind.

Suddenly Arizona's screams stopped and both Meredith and Cristina turned around, hearing the rustling of the leaves again. Mark appeared and looked just as distraught and shocked as everyone else. They looked at each other, their eyes distant. No one spoke and just at that moment they heard a sound, not the sound of the engines but an odd sound they couldn't quite place.

''Do you hear that sound? Where is that sound coming from? Meredith asked.

''There'' Arizona pointed. ''It came from over there''

* * *

''Derek!'' Meredith yelled while the three of them walked over to where the sound was coming from.

''Derek! Lexie!'' She yelled. They were coming close by now as the sound got louder and louder.

Suddenly they stopped and stared straight ahead. ''Lexie'' Mark said in shock, he couldn't believe his eyes. Lexie was alive even when there was a huge piece of plane laying on top of her, crushing God knows what.

Mark immediately lay down on the ground, coming face to face with Lexie.

''Lexie.. Lexie'' He said and felt for a pulse.

''You.. need.. to shut up'' Lexie said.

''How is she?'' Meredith asked.

''She's awake and responsive'' He replied while trying to look around to see if there was any chance to get that thing off of her. He knew it was crushing her body and that it was bad. If only they could use something…

''How you're doing in there?'' Mark asked softly.

''Oh, I'm.. I'm doing great'' She said and flashed a small smile.

''Yeah? Good girl'' He smiled. ''I'm gonna get you out of her okay?''

''Okay'' She replied immediately and looked around her. She was scared. Scared of dying, scared of leaving Mark and her sister and all of her friends alone.

''She's tachycardic and short of breath but it could be just from the shock. Her pelvis seems crushed but I couldn't detect any other injuries. We need to get her out of there as soon as possible'' Mark said breathlessly as he talked to Meredith and Cristina.

''We have to find Derek'' Meredith said desperately. Her mind going to all places. Her sister was hurt and trapped under a piece of plane and her husband was still missing. 'Why does this always happen to us?' she thought. 'Why us?'

Cristina looked at her and saw the hurt in her eyes. ''Okay, you know what, we found Lexie, so go find him go..go try and find him''

As she walked away Cristina faced Mark again who was desperately lost as he didn't know what to do to free Lexie. ''We have to get her out of there'' He said as he clutched the right side of his chest.

The same desperation as Meredith was evident in his eyes and it was the first time she had compassion for him, he was always the strong and funny guy but seeing him so distraught was making her core melt.

''Pop it back in'' She suddenly said and Mark looked at her for a second before nodding and laying a hand on her shoulder, ready to pop her shoulder back into its socket.

''Oh, wait, wait wait! She said as the pain flared through her shoulder and she had to catch her breath.

''Okay, do it'' She said confident and Mark looked at her for a second knowing what was to come before popping her should back into its socked causing a scream of pain coming out of her mouth.

* * *

''Derek!'' Meredith screamed as she was walking through the immensely big forest, trying to find her husband. She knew that it was possible that he couldn't hear her screams, conscious or not, but she knew she had to try. Derek was a fighter and wouldn't ever give up, no matter what. So even if he was badly injured and couldn't move, he would still do everything in his power to stay alive and fight like hell to not leave her and Zola alone.

''Derek!'' She tried again but still got no response. Her leg was begging to throb and ache and she didn't know how much longer she could keep up her pace but she had to find Derek, not matter what.

''Derek!''

* * *

''Arghh'' He grunted as he tried to get into a sitting position. He looked around him hazily, his eyes couldn't quite focus. He heard someone screaming in the distance, the sound just loud enough to hear his own name being screamed.

''Meredith?'' He questioned softly as he was trying to focus.

''Derek!'' She screamed again and Derek began getting worried. With the thought of Meredith hurt or trapped and maybe all alone, he tried his hardest to get into a sitting position but he couldn't. He couldn't, how hard he tried, he couldn't sit up.

He then put his hand on the wing to try and get more strength but then he saw it. His hand was stuck in the wing. It was swollen and bruises and dried blood covered his whole hand. He looked at it in shock and his mind was racing with thoughts on how to get it out of there without damaging it too much.

''Meredith?'' He asked desperately, hoping that maybe she was able to hear his soft scream for help although he knew that it was impossible for her to hear him.

He tried yet again to get into a sitting position but was taken aback by the pain radiating from his sternum.

''Argh'' He grunted slowly and knew that it was possible that his sternum was broken. He tried to assess his injuries quickly and was relieved that he was still able to take deep breaths although they were slightly painful.

''Meredith?'' He tried again but knew it was in vain.

''Arghhh'' He tried his hardest to free his hand but it wouldn't move. He then looked to his side and saw a stone in hand reach. He thought about the consequences. Thought about what it could do to his already damaged hand but knew he had get out of there as quick as possible.

He grabbed the stone and flashed one last look at his hand before lifting the stone up and smashing it with great force on his left hand.

''Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh''

* * *

''One, two three'' Mark counted as both him and Cristina tried to lift the heavy piece of plane off of Lexie's body.

''Arghhh'' They grunted as they tried their hardest to try and make the piece of plane move but it wouldn't move.

''Again'' Mark yelled but the it didn't move, it didn't even budge.

''Lex, Lexie, you still good?'' Mark asked as he lay down on the ground and held her hand.

''Yeah, yeah, it's just my pelvis I think. Quite lucky huh?'' She smiled and Mark flashed a smile too. Lexie was always the positive one of the two Grey's and she admired her for that. She barely complained about anything in life and above all, she was an amazing surgeon.

''Just don't die on me Lex'' He said and looked at her in the eye.

''I promise'' She smiled and wanted nothing more than kiss him in that moment but knew she couldn't. She then opted for something stronger, something she was sure she felt for him.

''I love you Mark'' She said and smiled a loving smile that made Mark's eyes tear up.

''I love you too Lex. I love you so so much. Don't ever forget that'' And he tightened his grip on her hand before placing a kiss on her bloodied but beautiful soft hand.

She chuckled and her tears welled up at Mark's sweet words. He looked up at her and smiled again. She was so beautiful. He made a silent promise to himself that he would never ever let her go again.

''We're gonna get you of here Lex and then we will get married and have kids and have an amazing life. We're gonna have it all Lex'' He smiled, and his eyes glistened with tears.

She chuckled lightly and nodded. ''Sofia can have siblings''

''Yeah, a sister and two brothers''

''That's nice'' She smiled.

''Yeah. We're gonna be so happy Lex'' He smiled and placed another kiss on her hand. ''We're gonna be so happy.

* * *

''Derek!'' Meredith yelled again as she and Cristina were walking through the forest again, in search for Derek who was still nowhere to be found.

She began getting worried by the minute as she still got no response from Derek signaling he was at least alive. She could deal with him being hurt. She had seen many people hurt , even relatives. She could with that. The only thing she couldn't deal with was him being dead and that thought sent shivers down her spine.

''Derek!'' She yelled again with all her energy left. A tear leaking from her eyes thinking about the worst. It couldn't be. He couldn't be dead. He's Derek, he's strong and healthy and..

''I don't understand how.. this keeps happening'' Cristina interrupted Meredith's thoughts.

''Cristina, we have to find him''

''I'm serious. I do not understand how this keeps happening''

''We have to find him Cristina because I don't think he went for help'' Meredith said.

''We keep dying. We're in a plane crash. Like.. like right now'' Cristina said and Meredith knew she wasn't going to listen to her anytime soon.

''If he went for help. If Derek had gone for help he would have sent a message or something. I mean we have to find him'' Meredith cried. ''Something's wrong''

''I can tell you one thing'' Cristina went on without seeming to care about what Meredith was telling her. ''When we get out of here, I'm getting the hell away from Seattle Grace Mercy Death and I'm never looking back!''

''Cristina..'' Meredith cried.

This time she did listen as she heard Meredith's voice which was full of tears and sadness and turned around to see her person standing there, so defeated, so broken. Tears were pooling in her eyes and she looked at her with pain in her eyes. Derek was her everything. She loved that man to death and knew that she would die inwardly if he died.

''I think Derek is dead. He would've come for us by now. He definitely would've come for us by now'' She sobbed ''I think he's dead Cristina''

''Mer…don't think that way. He's Derek, you know what he's like. He won't give up without a fight'' She said an stepped forward. Cupping her cheeks between her hands she tried to calm Meredith down. This wasn't going to help her or Derek and they had to keep the hope. Had to keep the faith that they were all going to get out of here alive.

''We're gonna die out here Cristina. We're all gonna die out here'' She screamed.

''Keep it together'' Cristina said suddenly while laying a hand on her cheek to try and comfort her person.

''No! You keep it together!'' Meredith replied with a scream.

''Keep it together anyway'' Cristina said softly while Meredith broke down right in front of here. It was not the first time though, as her person had witnessed so much tragedy in her life, so much hurt. She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve any of it.

''Do you think Derek is dead?'' Meredith asked.

''I don't know, maybe. But I've got PTSD so you know I'm not reliable'' Cristina said to her person who was still so broken thinking that her husband was dead.

''Cristina.. you're still my person. Even when I'm not..'' But she couldn't finish her sentence as she once again broke out in crying.

''Meredith'' Cristina said, feeling her person's fear and hurt. ''Meredith..''

''Meredith?''

They both turned around at the sound of Derek's voice and stared in shock as they saw him walking towards them, stopping a few feet in front of them. He was holding his bloodied hand and cuts were all over his face making him look sick and hurt.

He was breathing heavily but he obviously looked content that he had finally found them. ''I.. I heard your voice… '' He said in between breaths. ''I thought.. I thought I was dreaming'' And just like that he collapsed. Right in front of them.

''Oh my God'' Cristina said as they rushed towards where he lay there, motionless.

''Derek! Derek!'' Meredith said while slapping his cheek lightly to get him to wake up. ''Please wake up Derek'' She said and let out a cry.

''Mer, look at his hand'' Cristina gasped and pointed at his mangled hand which was heavily swollen and displayed all kinds of a typical crush injury.

At the sight of his hand she broke down in sobs again and began stroking Derek's sweaty hair. ''It's gonna be okay Derek. We're gonna be okay'' She whispered into his ear as a tear leaked from her eyes and fell on his face. He looked just like he was asleep and was grateful for the fact that he couldn't feel the incredible amount of pain he sure must be feeling for his arm right now. He lay there so peacefully, so quiet, that as long as he was going to survive she was fine with him not waking up anytime soon so that that way he wouldn't be in pain. She hated seeing him in pain and every time he was hurt or broken something inside of her died and she couldn't imagine the pain he must feel and the fear of not being able to operate again if they didn't got help fast.

''It's completely shattered'' Cristina said shocked. She couldn't believe her eyes seeing Derek's hand so messed up. The thought of him not being able to operate ever again flashed through her mind and she knew that if that was what was going to happen, it would brake him. Both form the inside and the outside. He was Derek, he was one of the best neurosurgeons in the country and he had an ego the size of Texas. No, she couldn't even think about him not being able to operate ever again. It would shatter both him and Meredith, she was sure of that.

''Derek'' Meredith said as she saw the fluttering of his eyelids.

''Merrr…'' He mumbled as he was obviously trying to wake up. ''Arghh…'' He groaned as the pain suddenly overwhelmed him, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

''Ssshh. I know it hurts Der, but please open your eyes for me'' She coached him as she wanted to see if he had any other injuries aside from his hand.

He slowly, cautiously opened his eyes. He blinked a few times trying to get the shapes in clear view.

''Mer…''

Derek, where do you hurt?'' She asked worried.

''My hand..'' He said. ''And my chest.. but only slightly''

He looked around trying to see where he was and if the rest was here too. He swallowed a few times before looking at his left hand again.

Meredith followed his gaze and bit her lip as she knew exactly what he was thinking. ''It's gonna be okay Derek. We're gonna wrap it up with something when we get to the others okay? It's gonna be fine''

He nodded slightly but knew it wasn't going to be fine. He was a neurosurgeon, he knew in what shape his hand was and knew that it was bad.

''Derek, can you stand?'' She asked as she looked at his face for the answer as he often lied when it came to his own health.

''Yeah, I… I think so'' He said and supported his left hand with his right hand before slowly standing up with the help of Meredith and Cristina as they walked slowly back towards where the other were.

* * *

''Jerry, how do you feel?'' Arizona asked as she was leaning against the part of the plane, her bone was exposed to the open air and she knew that she was at great risk for an infection and other kinds of things but she tried to shut out her thoughts and focus so that her thoughts were elsewhere and not with the possibility of never seeing her wife again.

''I.. I don't know. I can't feel my legs and I'm a bit light-headed but otherwise I'm good'' He said, trying to stay positive.

''Okay, good..'' Arizona replied, a cough erupting from her lungs. As she put her hand away she saw a few sprinkles of blood on her hand and looked at it in shock. Possible causes flashed through her mind making her nauseous. She knew what it could mean but it were just a few sprinkles. 'If it doesn't get any worse, It will be okay, help will come' She thought as she let her eyes droop….

It wasn't long before she opened her eyes again to the sound of someone smashing bags and suit cases.

''Cristina?'' She said sleepily.

She stopped and turned around at the sound. ''Oh, hi'' She said dryly and turned around again to go on with what she was doing.

''What are you doing?'' She asked confused. Open bags and suitcases lay everywhere, pieces of clothing and shampoo were sprawled all over the ground making it look like one big mess.

''We found Derek'' She said and Arizona looked beyond Cristina seeing Meredith lowering Derek to the ground and putting a cushion behind his head so he could lay against the rock. He looked so pale and his hand was looking so bloodied and swollen that she cringed at the sight of it. It barely even looked like a hand anymore.

''I need some t-shirts for a tourniquet, do you know if we have some?'' Cristina asked suddenly while digging her hands through the several bags and suitcases.

''I.. I don't know. Probably'' She replied.

''Got it!'' She raised her hand in the air, holding the t-shirt, and quickly went over to where Derek lay.

''Here Mer'' She said and gave her the t-shirt. She quickly formed the tourniquet just above his elbow and he grunted as she used the bottle of contacts liquid to disinfect the deep cuts on his lower arm and hand.

''Where's Lexie and Mark?'' He hadn't seen his sister-in-law and best friend and didn't know if they were alive or dead. He couldn't bear if they hadn't made it. He just got to like Lexie and things were finally looking good between him and Mark and he needed him. He needed the both of them in his life.

''They're over there'' Meredith pointed towards the back of the plane which lay a few feet away from them behind the bushes, completely intact. ''Lexie's trapped underneath it''

He looked at his wife, seeing the pain in her eyes. She hadn't known about the existence of her sister only a few years back but they had gotten so close that he knew they couldn't live without each other even though she wasn't as physically as close as with Lexie than with Cristina.

''Is.. is she gonna be okay?'' He asked frightened, hoping that his wife would say yes.

''Yeah, we think so. She only seems to have broken her pelvis but we don't know for sure because we can't asses her and we tried moving that thing off of her but it's too heavy'' She rambled while tying the last knot in the tourniquet.

''Loosen the tourniquet a bit'' He said.

''You will bleed to death''

''I need to save my hand'' He replied.

''Well, I'm trying to save your life'' She replied and looked at him stern, hoping that he knew that what he was saying was stupid and irresponsible.

''Safety pen, safety pen!'' Cristina suddenly said while she was rummaging through another suitcase trying to find more t-shirts and useful products to treat Derek's hand.

''Bring that!'' He immediately replied. ''And do you have a t-shirt or a bandana?''

''Got it, got it!'' She replied as she pulled another t-shirt out of the suitcase and walked over towards Derek. She positioned herself behind Derek's hand and gave Meredith the safety pen.

''Okay, we have to close the wound'' He said. ''Use the safety pen.. move you way inside and out and then put the bandana on top of it.. and tape it''

''And where's the bandana for? Cristina asked.

''Put it in my mouth'' He said. ''I'm probably gonna scream a lot and I'm.. I'm gonna pass out''

''Okay'' She whispered calmly and put the bandana in his mouth.

''I'm sorry, I'm sorry'' Meredith cried as she maneuvers the safety pen through the big gash. ''Please pass out, please pass out, please pass out'' She repeated as he tried to scream through the bandana blocking most of his painful screams.

''Got it'' She said after a good 15 seconds and clipped the safety pun shut. The bleeding stopped and both Meredith and Cristina breathed a sigh of relief. They both looked at Derek who had finally passed out halfway through. She could only hope that he wouldn't remember the incredible amount of pain he just experienced.

She then grabbed the tape and some bandages and securely splinted his hand before placing herself next to Derek and allowing herself to close her eyes for a moment.

* * *

''Meredith?'' Mark yelled as he walked over towards where he knew Meredith and Derek were. Cristina had come up to him to inform him that they had found Derek and that he was stable. Arizona was sitting a few feet away from them and was looking stable from what he could see. He felt guilty for not paying enough attention to her but Lexie was still trapped underneath that piece of plane and he still had no idea how to get it to move.

''Mark'' Meredith said and went to stand up. ''How's Lexie?''

''Stable, but I still got no idea how to get her out of there Mer'' He said worried. ''How's Derek?''

Suddenly he heard a grunt coming from next to him and he looked over towards Derek who just opened his eyes.

''Hey, buddy'' He smiled and kneeled next to him. ''How you doing?''

''Okay'' Derek replied. ''Did you got Lexie out?''

''No, I don't know how we can get her out. The thing is too heavy to move'' He sighed.

''I can help'' Derek said suddenly.

''No Derek'' Meredith said stern. ''Look at your hand''

''I have an idea. It can work, really'' Derek said and looked at Mark who hesitated.

''How?'' He said.

* * *

''Okay, Mark, you go over there and take that side and Mer, you can take the other side'' He pointed. ''Cristina, you can take the front''

''But which side do you take?'' Cristina asked him as they all positioned themselves around the plane wreck

Without answering her question he walked over to the other side of the plane wreck which had a bigger opening than the side where Lexie lay and kneeled down just under the larger opening.

''No'' Meredith said. ''Derek no! You could get more hurt. Don't be so stupid''

''Mer, I know what I'm doing okay and we don't know how much time Lexie has left. We have no other choice''

''Derek…'' Meredith said, her eyes pleading not to do this.

''Mark, Cristina, you ready?'' Derek asked, ignoring Meredith's pleads.

They both nodded. ''Okay, on my count. One.. two…three.. pull!''

''Arghhhhhhhhhh''

''Pull, pull!'' Derek yelled as he put his right foot in front of him and put the tension on his legs as he slowly tried to raise from the ground, his back coming in contact with the metal. ''Arghhhhh'' He grunted as his legs started to hurt from the heavy force they had to carry.

''I can.. I can't take it anymore!'' Both Cristina and Meredith yelled. ''It's too heavy!''

''Derek! Get out of there!'' Meredith yelled.

''Pull, pull! We're almost there!'' He coached as the piece of plane was moving steadily.

''You still doing okay Lex?'' Mark said.

''Yeah, keep going, you're doing great''

''Okay, pull people pull come on! We're almost there!'' Mark coached.

''I can't… I can't..'' Both Meredith and Cristina said but they didn't seem to hear them. ''I..I..''

Then it happened. Their hands slipped from the metal and the piece of plane made an abrupt move to the opposite side, the side where Derek was pulling and came down with a loud thud. An ear -deafening silence followed before an heartbreaking scream filled the silent air.

''DEREK!''


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: _

_So, here's the second chapter of the story! _

_I'm sorry for the wait but I wasn't feeling all too well the past week and we actually got some sunshine in my rainy and cold country so I didn't wanna waste it by sitting behind the computer as you might understand. I also would like to let you guys know that from now on the chapters will be about 3000 words instead of the 4000 in the first chapter. Those 4000 words in the first chapter was a large opening chapter and had to do with the build up to the cliffhanger at the end. So, from now on the chapters will be somewhat shorter than the first one but I always try to put in the quality. _

_I also try to update weekly but I can't promise you guys anything. I have a long vacation since the end of may due to my graduation from High School but I just got a job for the vacation so it can happen that I can't update every week but I will do my very best. _

_I also would like to refer you to my other stories: 'The One Decision You Will Always Regret' and 'Filthy Water'. I hope all of you will give it a try ;) _

_Also, many many thanks to my lovely readers and those who are so nice to leave me a review! I really appreciate it! It makes my day, really! _

_And a special thanks to my beta: tayababy! _

_So, enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to leave me a review with your thoughts about it and any suggestions or criticism! Can't wait to hear your thoughts! REVIEW! And you all know that reviews make me update faster ;)_

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel_

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 2: Nothing goes as expected**

_Then it happened. Their hands slipped from the metal and the piece of plane made an abrupt move to the opposite side, the side where Derek was pulling and came down with a loud thud. An ear -deafening silence followed before an heartbreaking scream filled the silent air. _

"_DEREK!" _

"DEREK!" Meredith screamed as she quickly went to the other side of the plane and kneeled down. What she saw broke her heart to pieces. "Oh God, Derek!"

He lay there trapped, unconscious, a trail of blood forming a pathway down his temple. "Derek, please answer me Derek!" she cried.

"Lex, can you feel his pulse?" Mark asked as he lay down on the ground in the opposite direction. There was no one to blame for what had just happened. It was a stupid accident, nothing more than that. Yes, maybe Derek could have been more careful but they all wanted Lexie out as soon as possible so if someone was to blame, they all were to blame.

"I... I think so," she said and stretched out her arm to feel for a pulse. "It's there, only a bit weak."

"Okay, we need to get you two out of there now!" Mark said and stood up from to ground. He looked around him to see if there was anything that could help him to get them free, a big, strong branch to use as a lever maybe. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and a million thoughts ran through his mind. They couldn't die. His best friend and the love of his life weren't going to die. He wouldn't let them.

"Mark, what are you doing?" Cristina frowned as she saw him desperately trying to break branches from a tree.

"We can use a big branch as a lever to lift the piece of plane off of them and then we can get them out," he said out of breath from the heavy exercise.

"Mmm… you're smarter than I thought you were, McSteamy," Cristina winked and went back to where Meredith was still kneeling down. Tears were streaming down her face as Derek still wasn't waking up.

"Please Derek, I can't live without you, you have to wake up! Do you hear me?" she sobbed. "Please…" She squeezed his hand tightly to try and give him some pain stimulus but he wasn't responding. His eyes were still closed, the blood slowly dripping down his temple making her feel nauseous. She hated seeing her husband in pain, weak, battered. After the shooting it took her quite some time to give the painful memories of him lying in a hospital bed, looking as weak as he did now, a place. He didn't deserve it, none of them deserved this. Cristina was right by naming their hospital 'Seattle Grace Mercy Death'. Every year something happened to them and they all didn't know why. What did they do wrong?

She suddenly heard a loud snap and shot up to see Mark with a big branch in his arms, slightly bent over and seemingly gasping for air.

"Got... it!" he smiled as he tried to catch his breath.

He then composed himself and slowly walked back. He was praying for this to work as they didn't have a plan B. Derek's injuries were still unknown so they didn't know how he was doing and if he had any internal bleedings. But the one thing he did know was that they had to get them out of there as quickly as possible.

Is he awake yet?" Mark asked as he was securely placing part of the branch under the piece of plane.

"No, not yet," Cristina replied and looked at her person again whose tears were still flowing freely from her eyes. She was still mesmerized by the love her person felt for Derek after what he had done to her but the way he always leans against the nurses' station, the sparkle in his eyes and the loving smile that melts almost every girl made her forget all about that apparently. She was sure that she wouldn't fall for that. She had Owen, and although they weren't on great terms the last couple of months, she was sure her marriage was still salvageable and she would fight for it, no matter what.

"Mer," Mark said and she looked up at him immediately. Her eyes pleading for him to give her an answer, to say that he had found a way to get both her sister and her husband out. "I am gonna use this branch as a lever okay. We're gonna get them out of there Mer, I promise."

She nodded and looked over at Cristina who nodded in return. She needed that security, someone who could calm her nerves down and tell her that everything's gonna be alright. Cristina was that person and she was so grateful for that.

"It's gonna be okay, Mer," she nodded.

"I can't lose him Cristina…" she sobbed.

"You won't, Mer. You won't."

"But… he's... he's... trapped and… I don't know how... how he's doing.. and-"

"Shhhh... It's gonna be okay, Mer. Don't think about the worst because then that's all you will get, remember his words?"

She broke down in cries again at the mention of that sentence. He had said that so many times when they were trying to get pregnant and when all the crap came over them again. He always stayed so positive and she couldn't do it without him. She couldn't do anything without him.

"You ready, Mer? Lex?" Mark asked as laid his hands on the branch, ready to get Lexie and Derek out.

"Yeah…" Meredith replied softly and squeezed Derek's hand one more time before pressing a kiss onto it.

"Okay, on one…two…thr- STOP!" Meredith yelled suddenly.

"Derek? Derek, can you hear me?" she said as she saw the fluttering of his eyelids.

"Arghh," he groaned. He slowly opened his eyelids and his breath hitched in his throat immediately, as he didn't see the sky above him but the piece of plane. His breathing sped up and Meredith knew he had to calm him down; an accelerated heartbeat could only makes matters worse.

"Shhhh… Derek, it's okay," she said softly. A lie. They didn't know what was going on from the inside and she prayed to God that he wouldn't show any signs of internal bleeding because if he did, she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Where do you hurt Derek?" she asked; she tried her best to take in the situation a bit by looking at his facial expressions.

"My... my ankle..." he replied out of breath. "I… I can't move it."

She immediately diverted her gaze to his legs and saw that his right ankle was stuck. "Can you still feel your foot?"

"Yeah, It hurts," he grimaced and she winced at the sight of his face. The pain was etched across his face and she wiped another tear away.

"And… my... my chest," he said as he couldn't suppress another grimace.

"Mer…" Cristina warned.

She turned her head to Cristina, whose face was etched with worry. She knew what her person was talking about but she didn't want to think about it. She had closed that chapter, it was far behind her and she didn't wanna relive it again but she knew she might have to…

"Derek, where exactly does it hurt? How does it feel?" she asked, her tone serious despite her worries and fear. She knew she had to remain calm herself in order to get him to calm down too.

"My sternum…" he said while trying to calm his breathing down. "It hurts"

A million thoughts were racing through her head and she tried her best to get them all ordered. 'Okay, stay calm Meredith, stay calm' she thought.

"Okay, it's gonna be okay Der. We're gonna get you and Lexie out of here," she tried to reassure him, although she knew it wouldn't help much. She quickly turned to Mark and Cristina who knew time was running out.

"Derek," Mark said as he lay down on the ground to face his best friend, his brother. "You're doing great, okay. We're gonna get you out of here. I'm using this branch as a lever so hold on for me okay?" Derek nodded. "Lexie, you too, you're doing great so far sweetie."

"Wouldn't... wanna … disappoint you, Mark," she smiled slightly despite the pain she was feeling.

"You never do Lex, you never do," he smiled and then turned his attention back to Derek.

"Okay buddy, I'm gonna count to three in a bit and yell if the pain becomes unbearable okay?"

He nodded again, closing his eyes to prepare himself for what was coming. He knew the amount of pain that could greet him the moment Mark tried to lift the piece of plane but he tried not to think about it too much. He pictured Meredith, Zola and himself in the play room, laughing at their daughter who was staring with big bulging eyes at the big fluffy bear in the corner of the room. It was the first time she had seen a bear that big and she literally couldn't believe her eyes. 'Come on Zo, hug the bear,' Meredith coached her daughter. She smiled as she saw her taking a few wobbly steps. She took her first steps a few days ago and they were over the moon about it.

'Almost Zo, almost,' he smiled. He loved his daughter to death and he was glad he didn't miss out on such small but joyful things. Those small things in life made him the happiest man on the planet.

"Okay, one... two… three!" Mark yelled as he began pulling on the branch. "Arghhh," he grunted as his weakened body had to put in so much power to make it happen.

"Lexie, Derek, stay awake and talk to me," Meredith kept a close eye on the two of them.

Derek grunted as the heavy pressure on his body was getting lighter; the pain radiating off his chest was getting harder and harder to endure as the support of his chest slowly disappeared.

"Keep breathing Der, slow even breaths," Meredith coached him as she saw him struggling to breathe.

"It… hurts!" Derek cried as he pressed his eyelids shut.

"I know Der, just hold on, you're almost out," she said as a few tears were leaking from her eyes again. Her husband was in pain and she couldn't stand it. It wasn't fair.

"Lex, you still okay?" her sister wasn't saying anything, she was just staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, I'm good," she murmured. "It's just my pelvis."

Meredith nodded. Pressure that was once there, keeping everything steady was now slowly disappearing, giving pain all the room.

"Okay, I'm there, I'm there! Get them out of there now!" Mark yelled; he was struggling to keep the piece of plane above the branch. His arms were shaking and he didn't know how long he could keep it that way.

"Cristina, you pull at his pants, I have his shirt!" Meredith rushed to pull Derek out from under there as safely and securely as possible, making sure not to dislodge or displace anything.

"Okay, pull, pull!" Meredith shouted. Cristina was pulling as hard as she could with her right hand as her left arm was still securely in a sling, preventing it from any force on it.

"Arghhh!" Derek grunted as he was pulled from under the wreckage. His ankle throbbed and his breaths were coming out of his mouth with difficulty.

"Derek, Derek!" Cristina called his name as she was trying to get him to look at her face. His eyes were unfocused and wild as pain was flaring through his body.

Meredith was pulling Lexie out quickly as Mark was barely holding on.

"Got you, Lex," Meredith smiled as she moved her quickly from under the wreckage. Mark let go of the branch and with an immense force it came down again.

"I've got her," he said to Meredith as he kneeled down next to Lexie. "Go be with Derek, he needs you."

Meredith nodded and smiled at her sister before standing up and making her way over to Derek.

"Derek, it's gonna be okay," Cristina tried to reassure him as he was finally able to focus his eyes on her. His shortness of breath concerned her, as was the fear in his eyes. She had never seen fear in Shepherd's eyes and it honestly scared her.

"Mer," she said as she looked at her person who already had her hand intertwined with his, squeezing it every now and then to let him know she was there.

Meredith looked at Cristina and saw the fear in her eyes. She knew what that meant. It meant that it was bad, really bad…

"Der," she diverted her gaze to her husband again. "Talk to me okay, keep talking to me."

He nodded slowly and Cristina quickly grabbed the first aid kit she had gotten from the pilot's cabinet and picked up the scissors. She cut his scrub top and gasped at the sight that greeted her. His chest was swollen and covered with bruises, but what shocked her the most was the deformation of his sternum. She looked at Meredith again and saw another set of tears forming in her eyes.

"What... what's… wrong?" Derek asked as he saw the shocked and sad faces of both Cristina and his wife.

"Your sternum… it's broken," Christina laid her hand on his chest carefully to feel where the break stopped.

Derek grunted at her touch and Meredith squeezed his hand tighter. "Shhhh," she said and began stroking his hair. The curls were sticking to his forehead and the paleness was bringing back the memories of when he was laying on the operating table, a gaping hole in his chest…

"Okay," Cristina said when she was done assessing his chest. "Can you take any deep breaths?"

He shook his head and Cristina looked at his chest again, seeing his chest moving up and down rapidly, indicating most likely a pulmonary contusion.

"You haven't coughed up any blood, have you?"

He shook his head.

"Is your sputum watery?"

He shook his head again and she sighed in relief. It wasn't a severe contusion as far as she could see now, but she knew that they all had to watch him carefully since hypoxemia slowly progresses.

"Do we have any oxygen on the plane?" Meredith asked Cristina hopefully but she shook her head, looking at Derek sympathetically. He really didn't deserve this even though he had hurt Meredith multiple times. No one deserved this.

"It's gonna be fine Der, help will come," Meredith tried to muster a small smile. He didn't need them to be panicked too. He had to keep the faith, he had to hold on to the thought that help would indeed come, in time….

"Try to take slow deep breaths Der."

"I... can't," he was visually struggling for air.

"Yes you can. Watch me," showing him how to breathe. She knew she had it easy as her lungs weren't bruised and she was, in comparison to him, able to take in deep breaths. She saw the fear in his eyes and she had absolutely no idea how to take that away.

"You know, we could take Zola to the beach next week?" she said, trying to replace his thoughts with something nice, something to distract the pain and difficulty breathing.

"That… that… would... be... nice," he said in between breaths and a small smile formed on his lips, making a tear escape from her eyes. She knew they wouldn't be able to take Zola to the beach next week but it was helping him not to think about the now; the now which was full of pain and struggles.

Meanwhile Cristina was looking at Derek's mangled hand again; it was luckily still in the handmade splint, untouched by the piece of plane. His right ankle though was swollen and she suspected a fracture.

"Mer, do you still have the supplies for another splint?"

"What?" She turned around and looked at Cristina, who immediately gestured at his right ankle to point at what she was talking about. "Oh, uhmm… yeah I think so, it's in my suitcase."

"Okay, we have to get Derek and Lexie back to where Arizona and the pilot are; the suitcases are there and we can stay warm in the plane wreck," Cristina went to stand up. "Mark, we have to move them to where the others are, we can stay warm there and wait for help okay?"

"Yeah," Mark replied and stroked Lexie's hair one more time. "You're gonna be fine Lex. We will stabilize your pelvic fracture and we will live the life we have ahead of us," He smiled and kissed the top of her head, before yelling to Cristina that he was going to get something to move them.

"He's gonna get something to move Derek and Lexie, Mer. Help will come, I'm sure of that," Cristina was determined as she kneeled down beside Derek again. She was monitoring his breathing and was worried at the way he took his breaths, shallow and uneven, a result of the bone deformation of his broken sternum. 'Where are they?' She thought desperately as she referred to the rescue team…

* * *

"Doctor Hunt! The patient in bed three needs a consult," one of the nurses said as she saw Hunt walking past the nurses' station.

He sighed as he turned to face the nurse. Her name was Brittany and he usually always liked her but now he was tired and he just wanted to pack his things and go home. "Isn't someone else available, Brittany? I'm really tired today and I was planning to catch up on some sleep before going in early tomorrow morning. It's been a long day," he hoped she would give in to his request.

"Uhmm… yeah sure," she replied as she smiled at Doctor Hunt. "I'II ask doctor Wyczynski to do the consult."

"Thank you Brittany," he smiled as he started to walk towards his office to pack his things. "Good night."

"Good night Doctor Hunt."

* * *

"Arghhh," he grunted as he opened the door to his office. His back had been bugging him all day and he wanted nothing more than to just curl up in bed and sleep. He walked towards his desk and sighed at the stack of papers that still laid there. He sank down in his seat and started to sign a few papers when he saw that there were a few unread messages on the answering machine.

"Good morning Doctor Hunt, this is Doctor Sheehan from Boise Memorial, I wanted to double check when your surgeons were set to arrive today."

*peep*

"Doctor Hunt, this is Doctor Sheehan again, we have still no word of your surgeons; I'm going to check with the airport to see if the weather held them up."

*peep*

"This is Doctor Sheehan again; we're starting to get a bit concerned here."

He stopped writing when the last message ended and he looked at the answering machine, contemplating what had just been said. Thoughts and images ran through his mind and he looked at his watch. 10 PM. 'They should have arrived 5 hours ago,' he thought and quickly dialed Boise Memorial.

"Good evening, this is Doctor Hunt; I've received a concerning message from Doctor Sheehan. Can I speak to her please?" he asked the lady on the other end of the line.

"Of course, I'II put you on hold," the lady replied. He wanted to protest but knew it wouldn't help. He sighed and tapped with his fingers nervously on his desk. "Come on, come on…"

"Doctor Hunt, Doctor Sheehan here, I'm glad you got back to me."

"Any word on my surgeons yet?" he immediately asked her without greeting the doctor.

"Negative. I contacted the airport but they haven't received any emergency calls. They flew over an area with a weak signal, so the airport thinks that the plane changed course due to the bad weather but I think it's time to go look for them doctor Hunt. They should have landed here 2 hours ago even if they took a detour."

"I'II call immediately. Thank you Doctor Sheehan." he replied and hand up.

"This isn't happening. This can't be happening!" he said to himself, dropping his head into his hands.

"Cristina..." his thoughts went to his wife. He loved her so much and he needed another chance to make it all okay. He prayed to God that his wife and his friends were all okay. He couldn't lose everything again, not when he had just rebuild it…


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note:_

_So, here's chapter 3 of the story! _

_I hope you all enjoyed reading chapter 2 and although I got 50% less reviews I hope you all still enjoy the story! _

_This chapter is mostly just a fluffy fill-up chapter for what is coming but I hope you will all enjoy it. I also tried to squeeze in a sweet, somewhat romantic scene, so I hope you will all like it! _

_This chapter is also a bit on the short side but I promise you guys that the next ones will be longer!_

_Also, reviewers, thank you so much for your support! Really appreciate it! Keep up the good work! You really make my efforts count! _

_One last thing: Every morning when I grab my IPod and check my mail, I see that someone else has put this story on their favorite list and I really like that! So, thank you for that! And as you all know, REVIEWS are very much welcome! I got 5 of them for chapter 2 and 10 for the first one so I would love to know if you guys are still interested in this story. I really love to write for this one and has big plans for it so if you think that the story has gotten boring or something I can reassure you that more is going to happen ;) the first one you will see in this chapter! It won't be all angst and hurt like the cliffhanger in the first chapter with Derek trapped under the piece of plane, but a little less angst and hurt and a little more.. friendly let's say _

_So, readers, please leave me a review with your thoughts and or suggestions on this chapter and I try to update soon! The more reviews the sooner the update of course :p _

_And as always, a special thanks to my beta: tayababy, who really helps me improve my writing! Thank you so much! _

_Enjoy!_

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 3: Written in eternity**

"_I'II call immediately. Thank you Doctor Sheehan," he replied and hang up. _

"_This isn't happening. This can't be happening!" He said to himself and held his head in his hands. _

"_Cristina..." He cried as his thoughts went to his wife. He loved her so much and he needed another chance to make it all okay. He prayed to God that his wife and his friends were all okay. He couldn't lose everything again, not when he had just rebuild it…_

8 hours. It had been 8 hours since the plane crashed and those 8 hours changed everything. Lexie was hurt, Derek was hurt, Arizona was hurt. They all hurt. They all wanted to go home and return to their every daily lives, to their loved ones who probably didn't even know about their current situation. If they could just close their eyes and be home. Home….

"Are you comfortable?" Meredith asked Derek as she and Mark had laid him down in the plane wreckage, where it was still somewhat warm and where they were shielded from the rain.

"Yeah…" he replied, although he knew he would be nowhere as near as comfortable as in a bed. They just had to deal with it and hope for the best. They still didn't know if help was on the way, but they all knew that they wouldn't survive another day out here.

The night was just setting in as the sky became darker. The clouds were slowly covering the sun and they all knew that it would be a tough night. Their injuries were severe and Derek knew himself that he wouldn't be able to survive another night out here. His chest was aching and with every breath he took it felt like someone was stabbing him with a knife. With his chest pain so present he barely felt the pain radiating from his hand and ankle and he closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain that was making him nauseous.

"Derek, if you feel like you're getting worse, you say it immediately okay?" Meredith looked at him sternly.

"I... will," he flashed a small smile, trying to take away some of the tension that hung in the air like a big cloud.

"I mean it Derek."

"I know…" he replied, leaving out the smile this time to let his wife know that he was serious. Ever since he got shot she became more worried around him. When he wasn't feeling well and stayed at home, she called in every hour to make sure he was still breathing and he felt guilty for that. If he hadn't been shot, she wouldn't be that protective of him and she would be able to just go out with her friends instead of staying at home with him.

"Is... Lexie… alright?" he asked, concerned about his sister-in-law.

"Yes, Mark stabilized her pelvis and she doesn't have any other injuries as far as we could see," she smiled.

"Good," Derek breathed. "That's… good," he flashed her another small smile.

"I love you Derek, don't ever forget that," she said suddenly, another tear leaking from her eyes.

"I won't Mer. I… love... you... so... so... much," he smiled. Tears glistened in his eyes; he knew that there was a good possibility that he wouldn't make it out of there alive. He lifted his good hand and brought it to his wife's face, wiping away her tears.

She smiled at him and planted a kiss on his soft, strong surgeon's hand. "Help will come, Derek," she said as if she had just read his mind. "Help will come."

* * *

"Doctor Hunt, is it true?" Bailey demanded as she walked towards him. She had heard rumors in the hallways but had to hear it for herself in order to believe it.

"Unfortunately, yes," he sighed and looked at Bailey, concern crossing her features. 'Not again,' she thought as images of the past few years flew through her mind. She had dealt with her former interns enough over the past few years and she couldn't believe that something happened to them again. As much as they irritated her, she loved them. She had seen them grown towards adulthood with her own eyes. She had seen **her** interns grow after all the tragedies they faced. She couldn't lose them now.

"Have you sent the rescues teams?"

"I have; they're preparing the helicopters as we speak and will be able to fly within a few hours. We will get them back Miranda. I promise," he laid a hand on her shoulder. Even though she was known to most as The Nazi, she loved her former interns and vice versa.

She nodded and looked Owen in the eye before turning around and walking away. She needed to do something. She needed to just not think about her interns who could possibly be dead by now…

* * *

"Arizona, you still doing okay?" Mark asked as she saw her dozing off. He felt guilty for not paying enough attention to her and he promised himself to watch out for her from now on. Callie loved her to death and he wouldn't be responsible for her wife's death.

"Yeah…" she breathed, not giving him anything to respond on.

"You tell me if you feel like you're getting worse okay?"

"Yeah…" She breathed again before finally allowing herself to close her eyes. She welcomed the sleep as images of Callie appeared in her mind. No crashed plane, no panic, no one hurt…

Mark turned around to face Lexie as Arizona had closed her eyes. "Hey beautiful," Mark smiled, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Hey…" she giggled softly as she smiled warmly at Mark. Oh God, she loved that man so much.

"You still doing okay Lex?" he asked her, even though he had asked the same question only 10 minutes ago.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Come, lie next to me."

"But... your pelvis..." he hesitated. "I don't know if-"

"Ah, come on Markie. Don't be shy now," She giggled softly as she looked at Mark's shocked face.

"You... you sure?"

"Positive." She smiled as she saw Mark's face lit up immediately.

He grabbed his blanket and draped it over himself and Lexie before scooting closer, transferring some of his body heat to her. Oh, it felt so good to finally be next to her again. He had missed it so much and this felt like the final piece that would make the puzzle complete again. In that moment he forgot all about what happened to them today. It were just the two of them again, safe and sound in each other's arms.

"Mark, do you think Derek will be okay?" she asked suddenly as she turned her head and saw Meredith stroking Derek's hair softly. He looked so pale and defeated. The sight brought tears to her eyes and she sniffled as she thought back to the time when Derek first came home from the hospital after he had been shot. It was the same sight and she closed her eyes in pain before slowly turning around to face Mark.

"What?" he asked, confused. He had almost fallen asleep and had to take in what she had said first.

"Do you think Derek will be okay?" she repeated as she looked at him directly, tears glistening in her eyes and threatening to fall.

"Oh Lex," he sighed, wiping her tears away as they slowly ran down her cheeks. He knew Lexie and Derek had gotten close over the last couple of months and that he was like a big brother to her now; asking advice, and not only about surgeries. He had really grown like a brother to her and he understood her worries. Derek was always a health nut and seeing him so hurt now brought tears to his eyes too. They all thought he was done after the shooting; that they were all done with all the crap that life had thrown at them over the years.

"He will be okay Lex, he's Derek. He survived a bullet to the chest. He's a health nut and he won't leave Meredith alone, you know that," he stroked her cheek, flashing a small smile to reassure her that everything would be okay, that not only Derek, but all of them would make it out alive.

"I know," she laid her hand on Mark's hand which was stroking her cheek. "I love you Mark," she smiled.

"I love you too Lex, so, so much," he smiled through the tears were now running down his cheeks. "Don't ever leave me, Lex."

"I won't Mark… I won't. I promise." She smiled softly before sleep overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes, dreaming about her happily ever after with Mark she hoped she would get…

* * *

"Okay people listen up!" Owen shouted as he stood on the stairs in the lobby where the whole staff was gathered together. They all looked serious as they knew what this meant; something big...

"Okay, some of you I've already informed personally, but I want all of you to know this as this concerns you all…"he looked at the crowd in front of him, watching as the faces of his staff changed from serious to worried. "Yesterday around 4PM our head of neuro, plastics, and pediatrics, along with 3 residents took a flight to Boise for the conjoined twins surgery." He cleared his throat to control his emotions before proceeding. "This morning I received a call from Doctor Sheehan at Boise Memorial to report that they hadn't arrived. I... I made some calls and we're positive that the plane never made it to Boise." he sighed again, and took in a deep breath. "We don't know if there are any survivors, but Doctors Altman, Bailey and I are flying with the rescue teams to their last reported location. I want all of you to stay calm and do your jobs, they will need you when they get back." He was hopeful and looked at his staff; shocked and worried faces looked back at him, before they slowly turned around and prepared themselves from what was coming.

"Doctor Hunt, we're ready," Teddy announced as she threw her bag over her shoulder.

"Okay, we're going," Owen led the team over towards the elevator. When they got to the roof they saw that the helicopter was already starting his engines and the rescue workers walked up to them.

"Hi, I'm Mark Entwood, and this is my colleague, Tyler Barn," the man greeted the three doctors. Teddy and Bailey shot up immediately at the mention of Mark's name and tears prickled their eyes. They didn't even know if he was still alive. They didn't know if any of them were still alive…

"Hi, I'm Doctor Hunt and this is Doctor Altman and Doctor Bailey."

"Nice to meet you all," Entwood shook their hands. "Although the circumstances are not what we would have liked."

"No…" Owen replied sadly and looked at Bailey and Teddy who tried their best to control their emotions.

"You ready?" One of the men asked them and the three nodded before they walked over towards the helicopter and climbed inside.

"This is Peter Fitzgerald, our pilot," Mark introduced him.

They all nodded and smiled at him before positioning themselves inside and preparing for the flight. Their thoughts were on nothing other than their friends and colleagues.

"Doctor Hunt, our second helicopter is in the air as we speak, and the third will take off in 15 minutes," the pilot shouted over the noise of the helicopter.

"Good." The pilot gave them a sign that they were ready for take-off, and Tyler closed the door before the helicopter took off, in search for their friends and colleagues.

* * *

"Cristina?" Meredith whispered as she saw that her person hadn't fallen asleep yet but was staring straight ahead, deep in thought. "Cristina?" she tried again as she got no reaction. "Cristina!"

This time she did hear Meredith calling for her and she slowly turned around to see her person smiling weakly at her. She carefully stood up, trying not to wake the rest up and slowly made her way towards her person.

"Cristina, can we talk? Outside?" Meredith asked her softly and Cristina saw the worry etched on her face.

She nodded and they slowly walked outside, out of hearing reach from the rest.

"So... What's up?"

"Derek's breathing has gotten worse," Meredith said, tears prickling her eyes once again.

She fell silent, the words echoing in her head. They didn't have any oxygen with them and she knew the extent of his injuries. He wouldn't survive another night without help…

"We... we don't have any oxygen on board Mer."

"I know, I know, I just don't know what we have to do now Cristina, we don't know when or if help will come, and Derek is getting worse, I just don't know what need to do. I... I... he can't die Cristina, I love him, I need him. I can't live without him. I… I don't-"

"Mer!" Cristina tried to interrupt her ramble. "Meredith!" she shouted as she couldn't get her to listen.

"Wha- what?" she turned around and looked Cristina in the eye. Cristina looked so calm and she wished she would be able to stay so calm in such a situation, although she knew that if it were Owen, she wouldn't be able to stay so calm either.

"We will figure something out Mer, I promise, okay?"

"Okay..." she replied, but instantly put her hand on her mouth as a sudden wave of nausea hit her and she couldn't hold it inside anymore.

"What? Mer, are you okay? Do you feel dizzy?" Cristina was slightly panicked.

"I'm... I'm… fine" she said between breaths.

A lie, obviously.

"No, you're not" Cristina said. She saw that the back of her head; it was smeared with dried blood and she felt guilty for not noticing that sooner. They were all so busy with Lexie and Derek that no one had looked any further than her leg.

"Let me take a look at that wound," Cristina stepped forward.

"No, no, it's not that," Meredith replied, turning around to face Cristina.

"What then?" she frowned. She couldn't think of anything else than the obvious. It was normal to throw up after you sustained a head injury and that was obviously the case. She tried to think past the obvious and after a few seconds it suddenly hit her.

"No…" Cristina said, shocked.

"Mmm" She nodded and put her hand to her mouth again as another wave of nausea hit her and she had to throw up again.

"Oh God," Cristina threw her hands in the air. "Now, really?"

"I… I can't help it," Meredith breathed as she regained her posture.

"How far along do you think you are?"

"I don't know. 10 weeks maybe?" She questioned as Cristina began thinking.

"At Webber's party? Cristina laughed. "No, you guys did it there? Really?"

She began blushing instantly and avoided looking at Cristina's face; she knew it held a Cheshire cat grin. Meredith knew she was probably only 10 weeks along and she had already dealt a miscarriage before; she didn't want to get too attached to it as she knew the possibilities. A hostile uterus even doubled the chances and with all the stress now there was a fair chance she could lose it again. Trying not to get too attached was just lessening the pain if a miscarriage did happen again.

"So, the food poisoning you said you had 3 days ago was McBaby?" Cristina asked, tying the facts together.

Meredith nodded and a small smile appeared on her face. Even though she tried her very best not get too attached, she couldn't get around the fact that a little person was growing in her uterus and that she already loved it with whole her heart.

"Have you told Derek yet?" Cristina asked.

"No, I wanted to wait for the right time and I just found out three days ago…" Meredith smiled sadly, knowing they had to get out of there and first focus on survival. There was still a good possibility that help wouldn't come at all, that she and Derek would die out here and that Zola would be at home, all alone, parentless again. She couldn't bear the thought and Cristina saw the hurt and uncertainty in her eyes.

"Help will come Mer, I'm sure of that," Cristina reassured her. "Owen knows; he always knows when something is wrong. They will be here soon Mer, I promise."

'Another promise, another lie?' The thought ran through her head, partially unwanted, as she nodded at her person. Cristina mustered a reassuring smile before she linked her arm in Meredith's and they both walked back towards where the others were sleeping. If they could get some sleep themselves, the hours would pass easily and maybe, just maybe, help would come tomorrow and then she could carefully think about the future. A future including another addition to her McFamily…


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _

_So, here's chapter 4! _

_First of all, I'm so sorry for the wait. I didn't have the right inspiration and when I posted chapter 3, I had absolutely no idea what I would like to see happen in chapter 4 so I had to think about that and that took me some extra day so I'm sorry guys but I hope this chapter will make up for the wait. I really tried my very best for this on, rereading almost every line to see if it fitted in the story and what was happening at that moment so it took me about 8 hours to write this chapter. I had this chapter written yesterday afternoon and I send it to my Beta but she isn't answering so she's probably on vacation so that took me an extra wait day. So if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes I'm sorry. I hope that my Beta is back when I've written chapter 5 because I know that it's hard reading a story with a lot of grammar/spelling mistakes. _

_So, I really hope you love this one and please let me know what you thought of it! _

_Also, I'm very curious to know from where you read my story(ies). Do you read them from your computer, laptop, IPod, IPad, or Mobile Phone? Because I always read stories from my IPod as it as compact and easy to read. You can read from everywhere if you have internet access and you don't get one chunk of words at the same time as you will have when you read it from your computer or laptop. I'd would love to know how my readers read my story(ies)! :p _

_Also, thank you all for your lovely reviews and I hope I will be hearing from you soon! _

_As for now, I can only say: Enjoy the chapter and please REVIEW! Review make me really happy and will motivate me to update sooner, I promise! _

_This chapter is around 400 more words than the previous one so I hope you will like that! _

_Enjoy!_

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 4: Please hold on**

"_Help will come Mer, I'm sure of that," Cristina reassured her. "Owen knows; he always knows when something is wrong. They will be here soon Mer, I promise."_

'_Another promise, another lie?' The thought ran through her head, partially unwanted, as she nodded at her person. Cristina mustered a reassuring smile before she linked her arm in Meredith's and they both walked back towards where the others were sleeping. If they could get some sleep themselves, the hours would pass easily and maybe, just maybe, help would come tomorrow and then she could carefully think about the future. A future including another addition to her McFamily… _

''Lex, you awake?'' Mark asked softly as he awoke from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and nudged her slightly. She didn't stir. He had surprisingly slept relatively good despite the cold and pain and prayed that Owen and the rest at the hospital knew that they never made it to Boise and had send the rescue teams to come look for them.

He looked over at Derek and a lump formed in his throat as he saw how pale he looked. His eyes were closed but his mouth hung slightly open. It was obvious that he couldn't get enough air through his nose anymore and it pained to see him so hurt, so fragile again. Images of his best friend, his brother, on a hospital bed, hooked up to every possible machine flew through his mind and tears formed in his eyes at the thought of him going through that again.

''Mark?'' Lexie frowned as she squinted her eyes to see if she had seen it right and she had. Mark was crying. The strong, cocky, and brave Mark Sloan was crying. Tears were slowly sliding down his cheeks and she turned her head to the direction he was looking at and knew immediately what had caused his tears. She sighed and grabbed his hand, squeezing it to let him know she was there for him.

He turned around at the contact and smiled warmly at her. She knew it was a fake smile but it was a smile nonetheless and that was all she needed from him for now.

''You doing okay?'' She asked, although she knew it was obvious that he wasn't doing okay. His best friend, her brother in law, was badly hurt and every time he looked at him she knew a piece of him died inside and it pained her to see him that way. The oh so strong and confident Mark Sloan was breaking under the image of seeing his brother so hurt and broken and she couldn't do more than trying to comfort him and hope for the best.

''I could better ask that same question to you,'' He smirked and bent down to kiss her hand that was still intertwined with his. She smiled at him and stretched her other arm towards his face to slowly wipe the tears from his eyes.

''It's gonna be okay Mark'' She tried to reassure him. ''I'm sure Owen already knows about our situation and send the rescue teams on their way''

''But Derek, he looks so pale and.. and what if they don't get here in time. He… he won't survive another night Lex'' He said as panic crossed his face.

''I'm sure they will get here in time Mark'' She replied, holding his cheek captive with her hand. ''We just have to believe that okay?'' He didn't look at her, just stared at his lap, not knowing what to say to that. He wanted to believe that, he wanted to believe that so badly but he didn't know if he could.

''Okay?'' She asked again, this time more firmly but still making sure that she didn't mean it badly.

He slowly nodded but still couldn't make himself to look her in the eye. Guilt struck him for failing once again to look after his brother. As a child he had the task to look out for his brother as he was stronger build and much taller than Derek was but it mostly turned out the other way and he still regretted that. He had failed Carolyn. He had failed the whole family and now, years after, he had failed Derek too.

''Mark, it's not your fault do you hear me? You couldn't do anything about this. Don't blame yourself for something you can't possibly control'' She told him, hoping that it would penetrate his one-minded thoughts.

''But-''

''No buts, Mark'' She said stern. ''You can't blame yourself for the plane crash happening and you couldn't do anything to prevent Derek from going on that plane. We were all needed and no one could have foreseen this so stop blaming yourself okay?''

He looked at her, his eyes red from the tears he had shed and he sniffled once again to keep his nose from running.

''Come lie next to me for a bit,'' She suggested and patted the space next to her.

He slowly nodded and made himself as comfortable as he could possibly get under the circumstances and kissed the top of her head. She smiled warmly at him and placed her hand in his again.

''Derek will be okay Mark. He's Derek and you know he won't give up without one hell of a fight. He will do everything in his power to stay with Meredith. He survived a gunshot wound to the chest and he will survive this too, I'm sure of that'' She said and smiled him a reassuring smile. She hoped that she was right because honestly, she didn't know if Derek would be okay. She shot him a quick glance and saw that he was still asleep with Meredith lying next to him. He looked so calm and at peace but she knew that behind that peace and calmness, there was pain and agony. Ever since he was finally happy with Meredith again he was afraid of losing her and she knew that that was the only thing on his mind right now. She could only hope and pray that they would finally get their happily ever after all they've been through…

* * *

''Shouldn't we already be there?'' Bailey snapped as she was getting impatient. They were in the air for close to 2 hours now and every minute that passed by she was getting more impatient. Every minute counted and with not knowing how their friends and colleagues were doing she couldn't take it any longer.

''The area is very large doctor and we wouldn't wanna miss them by going too fast'' Mark said as he looked at Bailey who nodded in response.

''It's just that-''

''I know'' Mark interrupted. ''They're your colleagues and friends and you want them to be save. I understand''

''Yeah…'' Bailey replied, looking at the ground in defeat. She couldn't stand the bear thought that maybe some of them died, that maybe all of them had died in the crash. Even though she sometimes couldn't stand them she loved them all and she couldn't lose one of them. She had practically raised them, had seen their ups and downs through life and couldn't deal with another death after George passed away. She just couldn't…

* * *

''Derek?'' Meredith said as she carefully nudged him. She hated that part. She hated to wake him up from the one place where he wasn't feeling a great amount of physical pain but she had to. They had to see how he was doing and they couldn't do that when he was asleep.

''Arghhh'' He groaned as he squeezed his eyelids shut tighter. He didn't wanna wake up. The pain was too unbearable and he couldn't do anything to stop it. ''No…'' He rasped. ''Please…''

Meredith's heart clenched at his words and tears formed in her eyes again. She had never seen him so broken, so hurt and it broke her heart. When he had been shot and had woken up from surgery they were able to give him some morphine to reduce the amount of pain he was feeling but here they didn't have any morphine. They had nothing except from some bandages and scissors and she couldn't bear the flash of pain that crossed his face every time he took in a deep breath.

'I'm sorry Derek. I'm so sorry but you have to wake up'' She said as she stroked his damp hair. ''I need to see how you're doing Derek, please''

''No…'' He rasped as he moved his head vigorously. ''Please…''

The noise had startled Mark from his slumber and he looked up, seeing Meredith bend over Derek, stroking his hair as she was obviously trying to wake him up but with no success.

''Derek'' Mark said suddenly as he had started to walk up to them. He kneeled down on the opposite side of where Meredith was kneeling and brought his face in front of his.

''Derek, you have to wake up okay? We can't see how you're doing when you're asleep'' Mark tried as he shot a worry look at Meredith who looked like she could burst into tears any second.

''It hurts'' Derek breathed.

''I know man, I know..'' Mark sighed as he shot Meredith an apologetic look. ''But please open your eyes okay, we need to see how you're doing. Everyone is worried about you man''

''Please Derek…'' Meredith begged. ''I need you…we need you'' She suddenly blurted out as Mark turned his head towards Meredith immediately, a shocked expression on his face.

''Mer…'' Derek's eyes opened immediately and he looked at her face, seeing panic cross her features. ''You're…. pregnant?'' He breathed. A smile forming on his lips at the mere thought.

''I… I'' Meredith stuttered. What did she say? Why on earth did she tell him that now? She wanted it to be special. It should have been a beautiful moment, one you would always remember and carry with you for the rest of your life. She most definitely didn't wanna remember Derek so hurt and broken whenever she thought about the moment she told him she was pregnant.

''Yes. I'm pregnant Derek'' She said as she looked at him, her expression blank.

No smile. Nothing.

His facial expressions changed from sheer happiness to worry and sadness as he saw the look on his wife's face. She wasn't happy and he didn't know why. Sure he knew why. They were in a plane crash and they were all hurt and tired, but they've been trying for so long to get pregnant and he didn't get why she wasn't happy about it. Was she scared? He didn't know.

''Mer...'' He breathed as he tried his hardest to pull his body into a sitting position. A grunt escaped his mouth and Mark immediately helped him to get him upright without worsening his injuries further.

''Mer… look at me'' He said in between breaths and she slowly lifted her head to look into his baby blue eyes. The eyes she fell in love with…

''Derek….'' She sighed as tears began pooling in her eyes again. She was a crying mess, a total mess. Her hormones were running wild and she couldn't do anything about it. They were in a God damn forest after their plane had crashed down and they were all hurt and broken and she couldn't deal with a pregnancy now, not when she didn't even know if the father of her baby would survive…

'I'm scared Derek'' She admitted as tears began to flow freely from her eyes. He lifted his good arm to slowly wipe them away and looked over at Mark who stared at him, still shocked from what Meredith had said.

''Oh Mer…'' He breathed as he continued to wipe the tears from her eyes.

''I'm scared of losing you Derek, I'm scared of losing this baby, I'm scared of everything'' She said as she burst out in tears. ''I can't do this Derek…''

''Yes, you.. can'' He breathed. ''I.. know you.. Mer. You're.. a strong… woman.. you can.. do this and you.. won't.. lose me. I.. promise'' He breathed as he took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly.

''You can't.. promise that'' She said in between hiccups. ''Look at you. You're hurt, you're in pain, I can see that. Everyone can see that Derek and we don't even know if the baby survives. We've had a miscarriage before and what if it happens again. I can't do this Derek, I just can't''

''Shhhh… it's… okay.. Mer'' He tried to soothe her. But he suddenly cringed as a wave of pain overtook his body. The immense amount of pain he felt just minutes ago came crashing back on him as the adrenaline of the situation wore off and he squeezed his eyes shut to try and block out the pain.

''Derek, breathe'' Meredith told him as she saw him panting. ''Take slow deep breaths''

''Can't…'' He rasped as a chill shook his body. His teeth chattered and Meredith frowned. She put the back of her hand on his forehead and was shocked of the warmth that radiated from it.

''Der…''

''Mer… I… don't feel.. so good'' He breathed.

''It's gonna be okay Derek. Just hold on for me okay?'' She said as she took his pulse. 'Too fast, too fast' she thought.

''Mark, go grab some blankets, now!'' Meredith immediately yelled. Cristina who was sleeping a few feet away, stirred from her sleep and looked around her in confusion. ''What.. what's going on?''

''Cristina!'' Meredith yelled. ''Derek suddenly spiked a fever. He has an accelerated heart rate and is breathing too fast. You need to do something!'' She cried as she looked at her husband who went paler every passing second. Beats of sweat formed on his forehead and his mouth hung slightly open again.

''Mark, what's going on?'' Lexie said as she woke up from the noise and saw Mark looking scared, holding a bunch of blankets in his arms.

''Derek spiked a fever and has an accelerated heart rate and breathing. He's not doing well Lex..'' Mark sighed as he quickly walked back.

''How did this happen so suddenly?'' Cristina asked as she took his pulse and listened to his breathing.

''I.. I don't know. I wanted him to wake up to see how he was doing but he didn't want to and then.. then I told him I was pregnant. He tried to comfort me but suddenly he grunted in pain and he began breathing hard and fast'' Meredith cried as she stroked his hair out of his face.

''I think it's hypoxemia Mer'' Cristina said, looking at her with fear in her eyes.

She knew what that meant. It was bad, really bad. Hypoxemia typically becomes worse over 24-48 hours after injury but it may also cause rapid deterioration and that was what was happening to Derek now. He was deteriorating fast and they didn't have the equipment to treat him. He was going to die. Derek was going to die if they didn't get him to the hospital within the next few hours…

* * *

''I see something, I see something! Both Bailey and Teddy yelled as they were looking to their right and saw the part of a plane through the snapped trees underneath them.

''We have found the plane. I repeat, we have found the plane'' Mark spoke through the walky-talky as he contacted the other helicopter. ''Coordinates are 45.55079°N 122.67122° back-up required''

''Where are we gonna land?'' Owen asked as he was mentally trying to prepare himself for what was coming. He had dealt with such situations before when he was in the war, had seen many of his friends die or injured but he couldn't ever get used to it. Every time it was different and he would never forget the moments when one of his friends died. Again.

''We will land there'' Mark said and pointed at the open space that was created by the plane who carried his doctors, his doctors who they still didn't know of how they were doing…

''We're going down'' The pilot spoke. ''Okay'' Mark nodded and checked his seatbelt and those of the doctors to make sure they were still doing their job before he slowly sat back and waited for touch-down...

* * *

''Derek, hold on you hear me!'' Meredith cried as she sobbed uncontrollably. 'Don't you dare die on me!'' she yelled.

''Mer…'' Cristina sighed as she looked at Meredith, sadness and desperation crossing her features.

''No ,Cristina! No!'' Meredith yelled. ''I'm not giving up''

''Mer….'' Derek rasped as he looked at her through half-shut eyelids. ''It's… okay…''

''No, Derek! You fight, you fight for us, for our baby. You're not allowed to die on me!'' she yelled again as she couldn't believe what was happening. Why was he giving up? He couldn't possibly give up. If they just had an oxygen mask, something as simple as an oxygen mask he wouldn't be dying right now. She let out a light laughter at the irony of that thought and both Cristina and Mark looked at her in confusion.

''If… if we just had an oxygen mask… he...he wouldn't be dying right now Cristina. It's not fair'' She sobbed.

''I know… I know'' Cristina replied, looking at Derek with sympathy in his eyes. She didn't like him. She didn't hate him but she just didn't like him. His cocky arrogance was making her nauseous and she didn't know how Meredith could put it with that. But seeing Derek here now, possibly dying, was making her feel something else than nauseas and she hated the universe for screwing up with them again. He was finally going to be a daddy and she knew how much he wanted to be one. It was not fair, not fair at all…

''Derek, keep breathing! Meredith yelled as she noticed that his chest rose and fell too slowly.

''Mer, even if help will come they will be too late. There's nothing else we can do for him'' She sighed as she looked at her person. Tears were starting to form in her eyes too now and she tried her hardest not to show them.

''Help will come, I'm sure of that'' Meredith said hopeful.

''Mer, you-''

''Helicopter!'' Mark shouted as he quickly run outside.

''They're here! We're saved!'' Mark shouted and Meredith turned her head to the right immediately, seeing the helicopter making contact with the ground. ''Derek, they're here, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get to the hospital. Please hold on for me for a bit okay?'' she said as she looked at him. Her eyes pleading. He managed a small, slow nod and she smiled, squeezing his hand in response.

Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be okay and they would finally get their happy ending together. And she liked the thought of that. She liked that thought very much….


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: _

_So, here's chapter 5! I'm so sorry for the wait guys. I had trouble finding the right inspiration but yesterday and the day before yesterday I finally got the right inspiration and typed the whole thing! It's a longer chapter than the previous one so I hope it will make up for the wait._

_This chapter has not been checked for any spelling or grammar mistakes so I'm very sorry if you find some. I still haven't heard anything back from my Beta so I think she's still on vacation. I hope she will be back soon. _

_Also, many thanks for all of your reviews again! It makes my work count and it brightens my day, really! Thank you all._

_For now I can only say: Enjoy the chapter and I hope you will all leave me a REVIEW with you thoughts and or suggestions on this chapter! _

_**(Note: Reviewers alerted me on the fact that there were no Cristina scenes in this chapter and they were right. Things have been pretty hectic and I totally forgot about Cristina. I have rewritten the chapter a bit now so the Cristina scenes are included . Again, very sorry for the mistake. I hope it won't happen again.) **_

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 5: Hope to see another day, fight like a tiger**

''_They're here! We're saved!'' Mark shouted and Meredith turned her head to the right immediately, seeing the helicopter making contact with the ground. ''Derek, they're here, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get to the hospital. Please hold on for me for a bit okay?'' she said as she looked at him. Her eyes pleading. He managed a small, slow nod and she smiled, squeezing his __hand in response. _

_Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be okay and they would finally get their happy ending together. And she liked the thought of that. She liked that thought very much…._

She smiled. Meredith Grey smiled a bright smile as she saw the helicopter making contact with the ground. Help was finally there and she regained hope for a good outcome, an outcome in which her husband lives and not dies. He husband was dying. The love of her life was dying just second ago until Mark shouted the one word she wanted to hear since the moment their plane crashed down and she couldn't be more happy in that moment as maybe everything was finally going to be okay…

''Hey!' 'Mark run as fast as he could towards where the helicopter had touched ground and saw the door opening. ''Doctor Bailey'' He breathed as she stepped out first, her emergency bag with her as she looked at him apologetically. She quickly walked over to him, assessing him immediately.

''I'm fine Doctor Bailey, it's Lexie, Derek and Arizona who need the help'' He breathed as he tried to calm down his racing heartbeat. Adrenaline coursing through his veins making him slightly dizzy.

''Where are they?'' She asked Mark as Teddy, Owen and the two rescue workers were standing behind her, listening closely.

''They're over there'' Mark pointed towards where they could make out the slight asymmetries of the plane wreck through the bushes and broken trees and they quickly run towards the plane wreck where their friends and colleagues were situated. Hurt and broken, but above all, scared. Scared of what was going to happen to them and how their lives would look like if they survived and if they were still going to be able to do what they could do before the crash happened…

''Cristina!'' Owen called as she saw her sitting next to Meredith, their eyes trained on Derek who lay there, unmoving. Looking immensely pale. He immediately run over to her. ''Are you okay? What happened to your arm?'' he asked concerned.

''I'm okay, it's just a shoulder dislocation. Mark popped it back in its place. I'm fine'' she said, hoping to sound convincing but Owen didn't believe her. ''Let me check you out, okay? Just to be sure''

''I'm fine, really Owen, it's Derek who needs your help right now'' she replied and fixated her eyes on Derek again. Turning away from Owen's stare.

''Doctor Hunt!'' Mark yelled and Owen turned around, seeing Lexie lying on the ground, a very panicked Mark hovering over her body. Owen didn't know where to look first and panic slowly seeped into his body. He moved his head from left to right, not knowing who to help first.

''I… I'' he said.

''Go to Lexie'' Bailey interrupted his thoughts. ''I take Derek''

''Meredith'' She replied as she kneeled down beside her, her eyes immediately shifting towards the person lying on the floor next to her. ''Oh boy'' she said as she saw the neurosurgeon, the cocky arrogant but so good looking neurosurgeon now so hurt and broken. Images of him lying in a hospital bed when he had gotten shot flew through her mind as he had the same pallor now as he had back then.

''What are his injuries Meredith?'' Bailey asked as she saw Owen and Teddy making their way over to Lexie and Arizona.

''His hand, his ankle and his chest'' Meredith said as she carefully showed Bailey Derek's injuries. Bailey gasped in response as she saw his mangled hand. It was heavily swollen and dried blood covered the majority of his hand. She knew that this could possibly mean the end of his career but she pushed that thought away. She had to focus and remain calm. Panic was the worst think that could happen in such a situation and she had to avoid that. ''And he.. he broke his sternum when he wanted to free Lexie from under a piece of plane and when we got them out, he complained of trouble breathing and we were thinking of a pulmonary contusion. ''She said as she tried her hardest to keep her tears from falling. Bailey flashed her a worry look. Knowing what could still happen to Derek if they didn't get him to the hospital immediately'' And when I wanted to wake him up a few hours ago he didn't want to but when... ''She took in a deep breath before proceeding. ''…when I told him I was pregnant I was able to see how he was doing but after a few minutes he grunted in pain and he suddenly got an accelerated heart rate and breathing and spiked a fever. I called Cristina and she said that the hypoxemia had already set in and that… that he was going to die'' She immediately began sobbing at the thought of her husband who was dying just mere minutes ago and Bailey opened her arms to give her former intern a supportive embrace.

''It's gonna be okay Meredith. We're gonna get Derek to the hospital as soon as we got him stabilized and he's gonna get the best care possible okay?'' Bailey promised her as she broke the embrace and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

She nodded and turned her attention back to Derek who looked at her through parted eyelids. He was trying his hardest not to give in to the peaceful sleep that was clouding his thoughts and the rest of his body. He had to fight for Meredith and his unborn child and he was going to do everything in his power to stay with them.

''Doctor Altman!'' Bailey yelled as she knew that she wasn't going to be able to provide him the best care possible and she knew Derek needed that right now.

''What's going on Doctor Bailey?'' Teddy replied as she continued to assess Arizona's injuries.

''I need you here for Derek''

''Okay, stay very still for me Arizona. Can you do that? I don't want you to move your leg and your upper body'' Teddy said as she smiled a small, supportive smile towards her colleague who she knew was in one hell of a lot of pain.

''Okay'' she breathed. She immediately closed her eyes as a flash of pain shot up her leg and she grunted in response, making Teddy flinch at sound of it.

''You're gonna be okay Arizona, I promise. We're gonna get you out of her alive and you will see your wife again okay?'' Teddy reassured her as she laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. Arizona nodded in response and even flashed a small smile before she closed her eyes again and waited for the pain to subside a little. Teddy looked at her apologetically and then turned around and quickly made her way over to Bailey who looked at her, worry showing in her eyes. She shook her head a little and she knew immediately what that meant. It wasn't good, it wasn't good at all…

''Doctor Bailey '' Teddy said. Her eyes immediately focusing on Derek who looked deadly pale. His left hand was tightly wrapped in a hand-made splint and the blood was slowly showing through the bandages. His scrub top was ripped open, showing his bare chest which was covered in bruises. The deformation of his sternum visible. She swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat. This was bad, really bad, and this was just what they saw from the outside. They had no clue as to what might was going on from the inside, making the situation all the more complicated.

''Doctor Bailey… I… I'' She was speechless. She had rarely seen this kind of injury. Had read about it and heard from it but she had never treated such an injury before and it made her slightly scared. She knew that many people died from the complications a broken sternum brought along and only looking at Derek's face gave her the impression that something bad was going on from the inside, something she was truly scared of…

''He will make it out of here alive, right, Doctor Altman?'' Bailey said stern as she looked at her colleague who nodded in understanding. They both knew his chances were slim but he was a fighter and if faith was on their side, things could maybe turn out the way they wanted to and believing that everything was going to be okay was the one thing they had to believe in now. ''Of course Doctor Bailey. I will do my very best.''

Bailey gave her one last understanding look before she laid a warm and comforting hand on Meredith's shoulder, making her know that she was there for her and that she was feeling with her. She turned around at the touch and smiled slightly at her former mentor. Bailey nodded at Meredith warmly before she made her way over to Arizona to make sure that every one of them would live to see another day.

* * *

''Doctor Shepherd, are you with me?'' Teddy said with a raised voice as she laid her fingers on the pulse point in his neck. It was fast but regular and she breathed a sigh of relief. ''I need you to open your eyes for a bit now okay?''

He slowly opened his eyes, though with difficulty. His eyelids stuck together and sleep was dragging his body towards unconsciousness again but he fought it off. He knew it was immensely important to stay awake and he would try his very best to do what Teddy tells him to do.

''Good'' She said as she quickly checked his pupils. ''Responsive and reacting''

''Can you describe me what kind of pain you feel Doctor Shepherd?'' she asked as she pulled her stethoscope out of her bag.

''It's Derek'' He breathed.

''I'm sorry?'' Teddy said confused.

''You can… call me Derek''

She smiled slightly. ''Okay, Derek, what kind of pain do you feel?''

''It's… it's.. a searing pain'' he replied as he quickly shut his eyes as another wave of pain hit his body. ''And a bit.. dull'' he said through gritted teeth.

''Okay, Derek, can you lie on your side for me for a few seconds. I need to listen to your lungs'' He slowly nodded and Meredith helped him lie on his right side while Teddy placed the stethoscope securely over his right lung, listening closely. She then placed it over his left lung and heard the same labored breath sounds. 'Pulmonary contusion.' She sighed and Meredith saw the worry cross the features of the cardiac surgeon. She knew it was bad by then. She had never seen Teddy so worried, not even when Henry was brought back to the hospital because of complications and that scared her.

''You can turn him on his back again Meredith'' Teddy said as she grabbed something out of her bag.

''Derek, as you probably already knew and felt, your lungs don't have enough oxygen to provide your body and brain and we have to support them now so we will avoid one of them collapsing or even worse'' she said. She knew that he knew what that meant but he was the patient now and she the doctor and she still had the duty to tell the patient what was going to happen to them.

''So I need you to wear this oxygen mask and not take it off by any means okay? I don't want you to burden your lungs any further. They're already barely hanging on so don't do anything stupid Shepherd'' she said, switching the tone in her voice to make sure he understood the seriousness of the situation.

He nodded and she carefully placed the oxygen mask on his mouth and nose and turned up the oxygen flow. ''I'm gonna give you an I.V now and get you some pain medication, okay?'' she said as he nodded again. She grabbed the instruments needed and set up the I.V before giving him the pain medication. It didn't take long before his features finally began to relax a bit and Meredith finally allowed herself to take a deep breath.

''Meredith, make sure he stays awake and call me if his situation changes okay?'' Teddy said as she looked at Meredith who nodded in understanding. They needed to get Derek as fast as they could to the hospital. The hypoxemia was slowly taking over his respiratory system and she didn't have the right instruments with her to treat that. ''Meredith, I need to check on Arizona now, okay?'' she said and excused herself.

Meredith nodded and turned her attention back to Derek again. ''Relax, Der'' she said as she slowly stroked his damp hair. ''It's all gonna be okay. We will see Zola again and we will go on a very long vacation when everything's behind us okay? Just the two of us'' she smiled and kissed his forehead, and she could see behind the fog of the mask that he returned that smile…

* * *

''Lex, you're doing great sweetie'' Mark coached her as he squeezed her hand tightly. Owen was stabilizing her pelvis. The skin around her nose crinkled and she shut her eyes in pain.

''It's almost over Lex, it's almost over'' He looked at Owen who was using a few t-shirts which were knotted together to stabilize her pelvis and he took a quick glance at Derek who now had an oxygen mask on his face to support his lungs. Meredith was stroking his hair and as he looked at her, he saw the hurt and tiredness in her face, she looked worn out and he felt for them. They had put the past behind them when Derek had gotten shot and they had promised each other not to leave one another alone and he wasn't sure Derek could keep that promise this time…

* * *

''Jerry…how.. is he'' Arizona breathed as Teddy and Bailey were both working on her. Wrapping her leg in a splint and covering the open wound to avoid infection.

''I'm sorry, who?'' Bailey frowned.

''The… pilot…he's in the… cockpit'' she breathed.

Teddy and Bailey looked at each other, their eyes connecting. In the heat of the situation they had totally forgotten about other survivors and they felt immensely guilty. They had taken an oath to save lives, any life, and they had now gotten blinded by the fact that it were their friends and colleagues who were in the plane crash, forgetting about other lives that maybe needed to be saved.

''I'II go check on him'' Bailey said and walked towards the cockpit.

''I'm gonna give you some extra oxygen now okay, to help you breathe a little bit better'' Teddy said to Arizona as she hooked up the nasal cannula and turned up the oxygen flow.

''You're gonna be okay Arizona'' She said as she squeezed her hand. ''I promise''

* * *

''Hello? Is someone there?'' His breathing sped up and his eyes searched the room frantically. His head was immobilized and he couldn't see who was behind him and it frightened him as she could hear his breathing speeding up.

''Hi, I'm Doctor Bailey, are you Jerry?'' She asked as she approached him.

''Ah finally'' he breathed a sigh of relief. ''Yeah, I'm Jerry''

''Where are you hurt Jerry?'' Bailey asked as she kneeled down in front of him, shining a pen light into his eyes.

''I can't feel my legs doctor'' He said frightened. ''Am I gonna be paralyzed?''

''Can you feel this?'' Bailey asked as she stroked her pen down his legs.

''No'' he shook his head frantically. ''This other doctor did the same thing but I can't feel anything. I'm paralyzed, aren't I?''

''I don't know yet. We have to do some tests at the hospital first'' she said as she continued assessing him.

''Do you hurt anywhere else Jerry?'' she asked.

''No… no, I don't think so'' he replied.

''Okay, good. That's good'' she said, breathing a small sigh of relief. She knew she still had to look out for any signs of a brain bleed but he was alert and talking to her. He was stable for now. She only had to think of how to get him out of here. They couldn't move him onto a gurney so the only option left was to take the whole seat out and she couldn't imagine how that must feel like, both emotionally and physically.

* * *

They were all trying to fix the mess, the mess the plane crash has left behind, and it was hard to find something to hold onto when there was no guarantee that their friends and colleagues would come out of this unharmed, with no scars in the end. There was just no way of knowing that and it killed them inside.

''Where's that second chopper!?'' Owen yelled as he had already stabilized Lexie, ready for transport to the hospital. They were here for close to an hour now and looking at Derek and Arizona, he knew they couldn't afford losing any more time.

''It's on its way doctor. He had some technical problems but they're solved now and he can be here any minute'' Mark replied calmly. He had learnt to stay calm in stressful situations and not become agitated when medical personnel yelled at them. And honestly, he couldn't be angry at them for yelling at him. He understood them, completely.

* * *

''You're doing great Der'' She smiled, planting another kiss on his forehead. He returned the smile, although weak, but it was a smile nonetheless and it settled her nerves and worries. He seemed to be doing better now with the oxygen on and although he was still in critical condition, he wasn't dying anymore and it put a small smile back on her face again.

''Second chopper is here!'' Mark yelled and he run outside, guiding his colleague towards the ground.

''Okay! Doctor Altman, Doctor Bailey, prepare your patients for transport, we need to be ready in less than 5 minutes!'' Owen said formally, not letting any emotion slip into his voice.

''Doctor Barn'' Bailey yelled as she saw him bringing in the gurneys. ''I need your help in here!''

''What's going on?'' He asked as he walked into the cockpit, but when he saw the doctor kneeling down in front of the pilot's seat, looking at him with sympathetic eyes, he knew immediately what she meant. ''I'II be right back'' he nodded.

* * *

''Okay, you ready Arizona?'' Teddy asked her as she put the gurney next to her.

''Y-es…'' she breathed and closed her eyes for what was coming.

* * *

''Choppers are ready!'' Mark yelled.

''Okay! Doctor Altman, get Arizona into the first chopper!'' Owen yelled as he made his way over to Derek and Meredith.

''Derek, you still hanging in there?'' He asked him as he checked the splints on his ankle and arm.

He nodded and Owen smiled at him. ''Good. We're ready to move you now. You ready too?''

He nodded again and with the help of Meredith and Cristina they safely put him onto the gurney. Owen grabbed the oxygen tank and put it between Derek's legs. ''Still doing okay?'' He asked him, and he got another nod in return.

''Okay, on the count of three. One…two…three!' They lifted the gurney into the air and walked towards the first chopper where Arizona was already loaded into. Teddy next to her, monitoring her vitals closely.

''Which chopper will transfer Lexie?'' Meredith asked, concerned about her half-sister.

''Lexie and the pilot will go with the second chopper. We will meet you at the hospital'' Owen said as they loaded Derek into the chopper. ''Cristina'' Owen grabbed her good arm and turned her towards him. ''I'm sorry, for everything '' he said. ''I was stupid and-''

''Not now Owen, okay?'' she said and turned away from him. She and Meredith stepped inside and Owen sighed. He closed the door behind her and then walked towards the front of the chopper and gave the pilot the sign that they could take off before he hurried himself back towards Lexie and Mark.

''You ready Lexie?'' Owen asked as he brought the gurney next to her body.

''Yes'' she breathed, and smiled slightly at Mark who gave her hand another tight squeeze.

''Good'' Owen replied and Mark moved his body towards the head of the gurney. ''On the count of three. One…two…three'' They moved Lexie onto the gurney and a groan escaped her lips.

''You still doing okay Lexie?'' Owen asked.

''Yeah…'' She breathed.

''Okay, we're gonna lift you now okay? On the count of three again Mark. One…two…three!'' They quickly lift the gurney into the air and made their way over to the second chopper. The pilot opened the door for them and they safely put the gurney in the chopper. Owen looked behind him and saw Bailey and the rescue worker carrying the seat with the pilot in it towards the chopper.

''Is he okay?'' Owen asked as he walked towards them, helping them carry the heavy seat as he saw they were struggling.

''Spinal injury'' Bailey replied, looking at Owen with sympathy in her eyes. She knew that there was a good possibility that he would never walk again and every time it pained her to see those people so devastated, so afraid of how their life would become like, not being able to walk again.

''Okay, get him into the chopper. We have no time to lose!'' Owen yelled over the roar of the engine as he quickly helped them into the chopper.

''We're ready'' he yelled to the pilot who nodded and closed the door behind them. And within the minute the helicopter took off and they were on their way to the hospital. Finally, they were rescued…


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: _

_So, after nearly months, it's finally here. Chapter 6! I'm so, so sorry guys for the nearly 3 months stop. Things have been pretty hectic the last couple of months after graduating High School. I started my study: 'Media, Information and Communication' in Amsterdam and I really have a hard time adjusting. I miss my old school terribly. It was a 3 minute bike ride and I had a blast with my friends. My class now is a bit distant and making friends has becoming really hard. I really have to drag my body forward to go to school now and the travelling is not something I was used to do so I have a hard time adjusting to all of that. I used to really enjoy school but now I just hate it even though I really like my study so far. It's a time-slurping study so I didn't have much time for writing and having these adjusting issues on top of that, it resulted into this huge delay. _

_As for chapter 5. I noticed some of you thought it was the last chapter. As you know now, it isn't. __ This story will probably be around 13-15 chapters so we have some more time to go. Another thing I wanted to address is that I added the 'missing Cristina scenes' to chapter 5. Some of you reported to me that there weren't any Cristina scenes in that chapter so I rewrote the chapter a bit so they could fit in. I apologize for that mistake. I hope you will forgive me. _

_As for now, I can only say, enjoy chapter 6! I worked really hard on it as I had to find my groove back being nearly 3 months away from writing. _

_Oh, and one last thing. Chapter 7 will take some time as I am in the midst of a huge project but I promise you guys it won't take 3 months. In 2 weeks the chaos will die down and I will have time to write on the next chapter. _

_And as always, I would really love to hear your thoughts on this one. So please let me know you're still interested in this story after the 3 months delay. _

_Enjoy!_

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 6: Sometimes it's not in your own hands**

''_We're ready'' he yelled to the pilot who nodded and closed the door behind them. And within the minute the helicopter took off and they were on their way to the hospital. Finally, they were rescued…_

''You're doing great Der, just hang on okay? I love you'' she said as she kissed his forehead again. The helicopter had just taken off and he was still breathing. His heart was still beating, and that was all she cared about right now.

She softly wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked over at Arizona who had her eyes closed. Her face was covered in dirt and blood, making her cringe at the sight.

''How's Arizona?'' Meredith asked as she looked sympathetically at Bailey who sighed in response. 'Her leg has gotten infected. We don't know if we will be able to save it but aside from that, we think she will be okay. There are no signs of an internal bleeding and if we can keep the infection under control, we have a fair shot of saving the leg.''

''Does Callie know?'' Meredith asked.

''No'' Bailey replied. ''A trauma came in this morning and we didn't have much surgeons available but I made sure Richard would tell her after she was done operating.''

Meredith nodded and glanced over at Cristina who suddenly had her eyes closed.

''Cristina?'' Meredith questioned.

No response.

''Cristina?'' she waved her hand in front of her face.

''Cristina!'' she raised her voice as she still got no response and slowly the angst was seeping in her voice making it quiver. ''Cristina!''

Luckily, this time she did respond. She turned her head towards Meredith's face and said: ''I'm sorry, what were you saying?''

''Oh, nothing. Just, don't fall asleep okay?'' she breathed a sigh of relief.

''How's Derek?''

''Stable for now'' Meredith replied, shifting her gaze back to Derek. She took his hand in hers again and slowly stroke his thumb, all the while damping his forehead with a soft cloth.

''Do they think that his hand is salvageable?'' Cristina questioned as Meredith shifted gazes between Bailey and his hand.

''We don't know yet'' Bailey replied. ''I updated Richard and the others, they're ready for us, but we just have to wait and see.''

''He looks so peaceful'' Meredith smiled softly as she wiped a tear from her eyes. Flashbacks of yesterday morning when they had finally found Derek returned to her mind. His heartbreaking screams as she tried to close the gaping wound on his forearm.

''I gave him some pain medication so he isn't feeling too much pain'' Teddy added as she kept watching his heart monitor closely for any visible change.

''Why does this always happen to us?'' Meredith questioned as she wiped yet again another tear from her eyes. ''What did we do wrong?''

''Nothing Meredith'' Bailey said. ''It just happens. It's something you can't control. You couldn't do anything about this, okay?.''

''I know, it's just-''

''The Seattle Grace Mercy Death Hospital curse'' Cristina interrupted.

Suddenly the alarm beside Derek's head began to shriek and they all shot their heads towards the screen, their hearts racing.

''Sats dropped below 90!'' Teddy screamed as she quickly unclipped her seatbelt and grabbed the emergency bag in the cabinet.

''Meredith, I have to intubate.'' Teddy said immediately as she locked eyes with her colleague. ''I need your consent as he's not awake to make this decision by himself. You know what this could mean right?''

''I…I'' she began to sob as a million thoughts ran through her head and she squeezed his hand tighter and tighter, afraid that if she let go of him he would be gone forever.

''Grey! Now!'' Altman yelled as his sats kept dropping and his lips began to turn blue.

''Yeah, do it! Whatever you need to do to keep him alive'' she sobbed as Altman immediately began to work on him. Bailey had made her way over too and was helping Altman with the intubation as Cristina tried to reassure her person. ''It's gonna be okay Mer''

''No, it's not gonna be okay Cristina'' she cried, raising her voice.

''It will be Mer, it will be. Derek is gonna get through this, I'm sure of that.''

''Ambu bag'' Altman said and quickly connected the device to his tube, squeezing it every 3 seconds. Slowly, the shriek of the monitor died down and she breathed a sigh of relief.

''How long till we will land!'' Altman yelled as she sat back down again, squeezing the ambu bag every 3 seconds.

''We're 14 minutes out!'' the pilot replied.

''Is he gonna be okay?'' Meredith asked, tears streaming down her face.

''I don't know yet'' Altman told her sympathetically. It was the truth. There is no way of knowing if he will be able to get off of the ventilator any time soon, if at all. The hypoxemia has taken over his respiratory system and they just had to wait for his lungs to heal.

''How bad is it?''

''It's not good Meredith'' Altman replied and Meredith immediately began to sob again.

''Shhhh…'' Bailey soothed her as she opened her arms for her former intern who gladly accepted it. ''It's gonna be okay, I promise you. It's scary, I know, but let's just stay positive okay. Focus on the good things. You have a beautiful girl waiting for you two at home.'' she said, smiling slightly, as she pinked away the tears from Meredith's face.

''He can't leave me Miranda, I can't live without him''

''You won't. That stubborn man is not gonna leave you and that beautiful baby of yours alone. I will personally make sure of that.'' Bailey smiled slightly, trying to calm her down a bit.

Meredith instantly laid a hand on her belly and Cristina locked eyes with Meredith who pursed her lips together, ready to burst out in tears again. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Bailey who stared back at her former intern with wide eyes.

''You're-''

''Uhum'' she nodded and Bailey wiped a hand over her forehead. ''Oh good God…''

* * *

''You still doing okay Lex?'' Mark asked for the fifth time since they took off.

''Yes, Mark'' Lexie smiled. He was so cute when he was worried and it put a genuine smile on her face despite the pain radiating from her pelvic.

''Why are you smiling?'' Mark frowned, a small smile forming on his lips.

''Because you're cute. You're cute when you worry'' she smiled again and Mark laughed. He leaned down to press his lips against hers but suddenly a hiss escaped his lips and he grabbed the right side of his chest, panting at the sudden burst of pain radiating from his side.

''Mark?'' Lexie frowned. ''Mark, what's wrong?'' she said concerned as she tried to sit up but was met with the same searing pain, preventing her from doing that.

''It's nothing'' he replied immediately. ''Shh, lay down sweetie. I'm okay. See?'' he said as he tried his best to sit straight despite the dull pain radiating from his ribs.

''Don't lie to me Mark'' she replied with a serious tone.

''I'm not, really. I'm fine Lex. I-''

''Don't worry Lexie, we will get him checked out when we're at the hospital'' Owen cut in and gave Mark a knowing look.

''Fine.'' he replied, giving in.

He then smiled a small, reassuring smile at Lexie. Wanting nothing more than making sure the love of his life was taken care of first…

* * *

''Fasten your seatbelt everyone, we will land in a couple of minutes time'' the pilot spoke through the intercom as the letter sign of 'Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital' came into view.

Meredith looked outside through the small window in front of her and saw Richard, Alex, and Callie waiting for them on the roof.

''I'm setting the landing in.'' the pilot spoke and slowly but safely guided the helicopter towards the ground. The minute it touched ground, the doors flew open and Teddy rolled the gurney carrying Derek out first.

''Derek Shepherd, 36-years-old male, deformed sternum fracture with a pulmonary contusion that's developed into severe hypoxemia. Gave him 10 liters by mask but was forced to intubate on the way over. Resps are 87, BP is 140 over 159. He also has multiple hand fractures and possibly nerve damage on his left hand and a small fracture in his left ankle.'' Teddy rattled of as she quickly made her way over to the elevator.

''Callie, go with doctor Altman!'' Richard ordered as Alex rolled the gurney carrying Arizona out.

''No, I..I need to be with Arizona! She… she could-''

''Arizona? Sweetie?'' Callie said as looked at her wife who had her eyes closed.

''She's sedated.'' Cristina spoke up as she slowly got out of the helicopter.

''Callie, go with Teddy! Alex, you take Arizona, Meredith, Cristina, you come with me! And page the other surgeons who were on standby, we have the second helicopter coming in soon!'' Richard ordered as everyone began to move around him. ''No! I need to be with Derek, Richard… I-I'' she cried as the elevator doors carrying Derek and Arizona closed and it was suddenly quite around them.

''It's gonna be okay Meredith'' Richard spoke as he embraced his 'daughter' into a loving hug. ''We're gonna take good care of him. I promise you that. Now, let's go get you two taken care of'' he smiled reassuringly and led them downstairs.

* * *

''Oh my god'' Callie gasped as she unwrapped the bandages around Derek's hand and forearm.

'How did he…''

''I don't know'' Teddy replied as she connected the breathing tube to the ventilator. His reps were stable for now and even though his BP was a little on the low side because of the amount of blood loss, he was stable, and that was all she cared about in that moment. ''And I think I don't even wanna know .''

''Yeah.. me neither'' Callie sighed and shot a sympathetic look at Derek. She really began to feel for him. He and Meredith had so much crap thrown at them over the last couple of years with Zola and the shooting, and now the plane crash and his hand. They didn't deserve all of this and even though she couldn't tell the extent of nerve damage yet, she was going to make sure that he would wake up with both his hands still there.

* * *

''Second chopper will be here in 2 minutes Doctor Webber'' the nurse, Ryan, informed him.

''Thanks Ryan'' he replied, and he was about to leave when Richard turned around and said: ''Wait, can you bring in Kathleen for me?''

''Of course, Sir'' he nodded and turned around to leave, closing the door behind him.

''How's Lexie? Any change?'' Meredith asked concerned.

''Not that I know of'' he replied. ''But she has Bailey with her so she's in good hands Meredith''

''And Derek? Have you any news on how he's doing? Cristina asked.

''No, I don't, but he's probably in surgery'' he answered, looking at Meredith who had her eyes fixated on her hands. He looked over at Cristina who stared back at him with eyes that said everything. There was a great possibility that Derek would lose his hand and even if Callie will be able to save it, his hand will never be the same again, making it all the more worse for the two of them.

''Okay, I.. I'm leaving the two of you here for now, but Kathleen will come in any second, okay? Just don't go anywhere''

Cristina nodded and Richard's gaze shifted back to Meredith, who was still not moving, so he was sure he wouldn't get an answer from her and turned his attention one last time at Cristina and forced a small smile before grabbing clean gear and walking out the door, making his way to the rooftop where the second chopper was already waiting for him…

* * *

''Lexie Grey, 26-years-old female with a pelvis fracture. Resps are 95, BP 90-140, I administered 30mg of morphine in the field but the pain is still high.'' Owen rattled of as he and doctor Bronx pulled the stretcher out.

''Lex! Lexie!'' Mark shouted as he quickly climbed out of the helicopter and grabbed the stretcher. ''Don't worry I will come with you okay, everything's gonna be fine, I promise you''

''No, Mark, your ribs, you need to get them checked out. I will be fine, go get them checked out.''

''But-''

''Please Mark...'' she pleaded as another shot of pain made her groan and Doctor Bronx and Doctor Webber grabbed the stretcher and quickly made their way over to the elevator.

''Lexie!'' Mark cried as he was held back by Owen who prevented him from going with her. ''Not now Mark, you need to get checked out too.''

''No, I need to go with her Owen, please. I promise you that I will get myself checked out. Please..'' he pleaded but Owen shook his head and pressed the elevator button.

''You can see her after you've been checked out but she will probably go in surgery soon so it could take some time'' Owen informed him as the elevator dinged and they stepped in, pressing the button for the third floor.

* * *

''Okay'' Owen said as they walked into exam room 1. '' Mark, go lay down on the exam table please. I'm gonna get the portable x-ray now so don't go anywhere. ''Owen informed him as he got a heavy sigh in response followed by a grunt before he walked out the door, leaving Mark alone with his thoughts.

Lexie. She was the only thing on his mind right now and he couldn't stop worrying despite knowing that she was in good hands. He mentally kicked himself for not saying sooner that he loved her but he had finally said it and was glad he got a second chance.

As what seemed like only a minute later, Owen walked back in with the portable x-ray machine and placed the device beside the exam table. ''I'm gonna cut your scrub top first, so tell me, what kind of pain do you feel exactly?''

''It's a sharp pain. I probably broke a rib or something, nothing serious.'' he replied calmly.

''Okay, we'II see.'' Owen responded and grabbed the portable x-ray.

''If you do have a broken rib, or maybe multiple, I'm gonna give you some pain killers and a tight bandage around your chest okay? To give it some stability.''

''Okay'' Mark nodded and Owen turned his attention back to the machine. ''Lay very still for me for a few seconds''

''And.. done.'' Owen replied as he moved the x-ray machine back to its place and waited for the images to develop.

''So, you and Lexie again huh?'' Owen smiled and for the first time this day, got a smile in response.

''She's amazing Owen.'' Mark smiled. ''I should have told her sooner that I loved her. She's my rock, really.''

''I can imagine'' he replied, smiling at Mark's words.

''I think they're ready'' Mark said and Owen turned around and grabbed the films before putting them on the light board.

''And?'' Mark asked curious.

''You've broken 3 ribs, but they're clean breaks so I'm gonna give you a tight bandage and a prescription for some pain killers and then you can go see Lexie''

''Sounds like a great plan!'' Mark smiled and finally began to relax at the thought of seeing Lexie soon. The love of his life…

* * *

As the evening began to set, everyone was finally out of surgery and up in the ICU. Callie was sitting beside Arizona's bedside, stroking her hand softly and whispering soothing, reassuring words to her wife who was fast asleep and still had no idea that they weren't able to save the leg. She bragged her mind as she had no idea what to say to her wife when she would wake up. She had no excuse, no explanation, nothing….

The room next to Arizona's, lay Lexie who was just like Arizona, fast asleep. Mark was sitting on the stool beside her bed, holding tightly onto her hand and having no intention to let it go anytime soon. He finally had her back and couldn't lose her again. Doctor Bronx had said the surgery went as planned but that she still had a long recovery ahead of her. He had only smiled hearing those words and never stopped smiling as he knew that he finally had the love of his life back again…

Down the hall on the left, in room 239, lay Derek. Meredith was sitting silently beside his bedside, stroking his hair in soothing motions. The heart monitor beeped in time with his heartbeat and the ventilator was working slowly beside her. He looked immensely pale, a clear reminder of the amount of blood he had lost, and his left hand was tightly wrapped with thick layers of bandage, making sure his hand would get the rest it needed. Numerous amounts of tubes ran in and out of his body making him look even sicker.

''You're gonna get through this Derek, you just have to. For me, for Zola, for the baby. I can't do this on my own Der. I need you, I love you, so please don't die on me.'' she said as a lone tear slid down her face and she pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. ''I love you Der, forever.''

One level below them, in room 187, Owen was sitting beside Cristina's bedside. He had ordered her to take rest and as she didn't listen, he had admitted her. Her arm was put safely into a sling and she had finally fallen asleep. Owen let out a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. His 3 top surgeons were all injured in the crash and he was bragging his mind about how to solve that problem. Work and personal matters were crossing paths and he had absolutely no clue how that solve that problem on such short notice. The only thing he did knew was that he was gonna make sure that his surgeons were gonna get the best care possible...


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note:_

_So, after nearly 3 months, it's finally here. Chapter 7! I'm so sorry guys for the delay again. College takes so much of my time right now and as for chapter 8, I won't be able to write for the rest of January due to another project and exams so I will probably start writing on chapter 8 in February. I hope you guys didn't lose interest in this story and hope you all still keep reviewing the story. I love to hear from every one of you on what you thought of the chapter and what you would like to see happen. Suggestions are really welcome! _

_As for this chapter, it's longer than usual so I hope you like that, but I'm sure you all will :p This chapter is a serious but at the same time fluffy chapter. A lot of cute/serious scenes and some humor too of course to keep it a bit light. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you thought of it! __ I've lost a serious amount of reviewers since I took them out of the woods and would love to know what I did wrong and what I can improve so I can make this story better. _

_For now I can only say: Enjoy! _

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 7: Everything's going to be okay, right?**

_One level below them, in room 187, Owen was sitting beside Cristina's bedside. He had ordered her to take rest and as she didn't listen, he had admitted her. Her arm was put safely into a sling and she had finally fallen asleep. Owen let out a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. His 3 top surgeons were all injured in the crash and he was bragging his mind about how to solve that problem. Work and personal matters were crossing paths and he had absolutely no clue how that solve that problem on such short notice. The only thing he did knew was that he was gonna make sure that his surgeons were gonna get the best care possible..._

It was morning again and the sun barely got through the tights blinds in the CICU. It was a welcome light as, a light that expressed positivism in dark periods. The sun had the power to make you smile and make you happy when you were down. The sun was a powerful source of energy, an energy she really needed right now…

''Mer'' Cristina whispered as she stood in the doorway, her hand holding a cup of coffee.

She turned around at the sound of the voice of her best friend. ''Cristina'' she smiled lightly.

''I thought I would find you here'' she said as she walked up to her and handed Meredith the cup of coffee.

''Thanks.'' she smiled and took a sip of the coffee. Her eyes landed on Derek's pale face again and tears prickled her eyes. He was still so sick and she couldn't watch it anymore. He is supposed to be her knight in shining whatever, he is supposed to be the strong one and to see he isn't, made her eyes prickle with fresh tears again.

'''He's gonna be fine Mer, I've told you that already. I mean, now he isn't but he will. He's Derek, you know that. He will pull through this. Nothing stops him, not even a bullet, you've seen that yourself. You just have to keep hope Mer.''

''It's been 3 days Cristina. 3 days! We should've seen progress already. He's not gonna get better Cristina and I will be a single parent to Zola and this baby and-.'' She began to sob uncontrollably and Cristina stared at her person in shock.

''Come here'' she sighed and opened her arms for Meredith who gladly accepted the hug.

''He's gonna get better Mer. He's not getting worse. He just needs some more time, that's all. Teddy said she would reassess his situation tonight and if he remains stable, she will lower his sedation and he will probably wake up.''

''But.. but what if he won't. What if he won't wake up Cristina'' Meredith questioned as her worse fears surfaced.

''He will Mer. I'm sure of that.'' She smiled as she looked at Derek. 'You better wake up for her you bastard' she thought as she looked at her person again who was looking exhausted. Red stripes marked her face of where tears were one flowing freely and she knew that if Derek didn't pull through, her person wouldn't either…

* * *

''Hi'' Lexie smiled as the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Mark ,who was sitting in the stool beside her, looking as hot as ever, even with the scratches on his face.

''Did you sleep well sweetie?'' Mark asked softly and bend down to kiss her lips, a grunt coming out of his mouth immediately.

''Mark?'' she questioned as she saw him putting a hand on the right side of his chest. His face displaying all kinds of discomfort.

''It's nothing Lex, I just broke some ribs. Owen checked me out, there's nothing to be concerned of, really.'' He tried to reassure her despite the heavy discomfort he was feeling. Broken ribs hurt as hell. He sighed. He wanted nothing but to hold her in his arms and hug her tightly but he couldn't even kiss her without feeling any physical pain.

Lexie smiled slightly and grabbed his hand. ''How's Derek?'' she asked.

''Hanging in there'' he replied. ''He hasn't woken up yet but Altman said she would reassess his situation tonight and see if they can lower his sedation. His lungs aren't worsening anymore so that's a good thing at least.''

He snorted at his own words. 'How can something not worsening but not getting better either, be a good thing' he thought. His brother was laying there in the CICU, on a ventilator, sedated, with a chance of not being able to ever wake up again and he was sitting next to the woman he loved, whom was alive and breathing and would be okay in the end. It was not fair and he felt guilty for his own happiness right now.

''He will pull through Mark.'' Lexie squeezed his hand tightly and looked him in the eye, seeing the hurt in his face. ''He will pull through just like we did. I'm sure of that''

''Yeah..'' Mark smiled slightly and squeezed her hand one more time. Tears prickled his eyes. He couldn't lose his brother, not now. Not ever. They had still so many things to do, so many things to tell each other. He just couldn't lose him…

* * *

At the desk opposite of Arizona's room next sat Callie doing charts. She had assigned Alex to Arizona's case and she finally had some time to breath as a lot had happened over the last couple of days. Thoughts and emotions were running wild and she still couldn't look at the empty space on the bed where her lower leg used to be.

When Arizona woke up 8 hours after the surgery, it was the first thing she thought and spoke about and Callie would never forget that moment….

_It's been 8 hours after her life saving surgery and she was slowly starting to wake up from the anesthesia. _

''_Hi ,sweetie'' Callie smiled as her wife slowly opened her eyes. A few grunts escaped her lips and when her vision fully returned she immediately darted in panic around the room, obviously disoriented from the anesthesia. ''He, he! You're okay now. You're at the hospital.'' Callie tried to reassure her as she grabbed her hand and give it a firm squeeze. _

_But it didn't help as her eyes immediately fixated on the empty space next to her right leg and her eyes immediately filled with tears. _

''_Arizona…'' Callie tried to cautiously approach her but she was immediately cut off. _

''_NO! No, you don't get to say anything right now! You… you.. cut off my leg! You promised you wouldn't and you did, you di-'' _

''_I had no choice!'' she creamed back as tears rolled freely over her cheeks. ''I had no choice but to cut it off okay! It… it was dead, it was making you sick and I couldn't not do it! It was the leg or your life and I choose you Arizona, I choose you and not the damn leg!'' _

_A moment of silence followed before she said those few words that gave her the last push. _

''_Get out!'' She said and pointed at the door. _

''_But-'' _

''_Get out NOW!'' she screamed. ''I don't ever want to see you again, you hear me?! Ever!'' _

_She froze right at her spot and she couldn't bring out anything to say. Fresh tears prickled her eyes again and she burst out in cries before she immediately fled out of the room, leaving a very angry and upset Arizona behind…_

It was a moment she would never forget. It had hurt deeply, but in her heart she knew that Arizona didn't mean it. It had come as a shock though at first, and she didn't know how to handle it, but after taking the time to think all of it through, she wanted nothing more than to fix all of it. She loved her wife more than anything in the world and she couldn't lose her. And if that meant not being able to see or talk to her wife for a few days, then she would do it…

* * *

The clock on the wall showed 5PM and Meredith was in the cafeteria waiting in line for dinner. Her stomach was growling at her as she hadn't eaten a decent amount of food over the last couple of days. As she waited, she saw Cristina walking in the cafeteria, immediately spotting Meredith and walking up to her.

''What're you getting?'' she asked lightly as she scanned the menu card. She knew her person was stressed out because of what happened with Derek and on top of that she was hormonal now so she knew any wrong move would give her the last push towards a breakdown and starting another conversation about Derek would be a wrong move, a very wrong move….

''I don't know. I'm not that hungry actu-''

''Yes, you are'' Cristina interrupted. ''I hear you stomach growling from miles.''

''I just can't eat much okay!'' she snapped.

''Okay..'' Cristina said cautiously.

''I'm sorry'' she apologized. ''I'm just.. Teddy said she would be there around 8 and I just can't stomach the idea of Derek not waking up. I miss him Cristina and Zola misses her daddy. When I picked her up from daycare yesterday she asked for him and I said to her that he went on a little trip for work and that we will see him soon , but what if he won't wake up anymore Cristina?'' she asked her person who was clearly looking for the right answer but couldn't find it either.

''I don't know Mer, I seriously don't know. All I can tell you is that he probably just needs some more time. I told you that his condition is not worsening and Teddy said she has good hopes of him waking up anytime soon. So, we just have to be patient Mer.'' Cristina replied softly, hoping that she reassured her person some more.

Meredith nodded in reply and smiled slightly at her person who returned the gesture.

''I would go for the lasagna though'' Cristina suddenly changed the subject and Meredith's smile grew bigger before a soft giggle came out of her mouth, filling the tense air with some positive laughter.

''Yeah, you're probably right.'' she giggled and took the lasagna before the two of them sat down in the cafeteria.

''Aren't you getting dinner?'' Meredith asked curious.

''No, I already had dinner with Owen earlier.'' She shrugged and smiled slightly. Wanting nothing more than the subject to change.

''Oh'' she said, looking surprised. ''I didn't know you and Owen were.. well, good again''

''We're not'' Cristina replied immediately. ''It's just, he deserves another chance and I still love him.''

''That's good. I'm happy for you, Cristina'' she smiled as she took a forkful of lasagna and stilled her growling stomach.

''Yeah yeah… can we just not talk about it anymore?''

''Okay.'' Meredith shrugged and took another bite of her lasagna…

* * *

''How late is Teddy gonna be there?'' Lexie asked Mark as he started pacing in the room.

''Around 8 Meredith told me'' he replied and looked at his watch again.

''It's gonna be fine Mark. Teddy was hopeful about him waking up and I'm sure she will tell us good news tonight.''

''I know Lex, I know… It's just…''

''Hard.'' She jumped in. ''I know..''

''Meredith will fall apart if he won't wake up anymore and Zola… she needs her daddy. They're gonna have a baby together and Derek always wanted to see Meredith pregnant Lex.'' Mark said sadly. ''I just can't imagine him not being able to see Meredith giving birth and Zola growing up. I just-.''

''Hey, hey, hey!'' Lexie jumped in. ''Don't say that. Derek will wake up okay. You're gonna go to his room in a minute and you will hear good news, okay?''

Mark just smiled and walked up to her bed, slowly bending down to avoid his ribs hurting, and kissed her slowly but passionately on the lips. The both of them groaning as their lips parted.

''Go'' Lexie smiled. ''And bring me good news when you get back!''

''I hope so'' Mark replied smiling and walked out of the room. Hoping to finally hear some good news about the person he grew up with and has turned into his brother…

* * *

When Mark walked into Derek's room he was greeted by Meredith and Cristina who were both sitting nervously on the couch.

''McSteamy'' Cristina greeted him jokingly, smiling as she saw the look on his face.

''Doctor Yang'' he replied professionally, not in the mood for any jokes at the moment.

''Good evening everyone'' Teddy greeted them as she walked into the room. The three of them immediately stood up, their heads turning into the direction of the cardiac surgeon as she and Meredith went to stand by Derek's bedside.

''How're you holding up so far, Meredith?'' Teddy started the conversation as Mark and Cristina took some distance from the two of them. Not wanting to be in front for this.

''It's hard without him you know? I miss him so much, and Zola too'' She replied sadly, looking at her husband again who still looked immensely pale. Various tubes still sneaking in and out of his body, making her feel sick to her stomach.

''Yeah…I know'' Teddy said sadly, glancing over at Derek and remembering her time with Henry, understanding Meredith's feelings completely.

''I hope we will be able to lower his sedation and wake him up by the end of the evening, Meredith.'' she smiled as she called the two nurses in. ''I'm gonna take him up for some tests now and then we will now more.''

''Okay'' Meredith nodded and turned her head towards her husband again. Bending down to give him a soft kiss on his forehead, she whispered: ''Be strong for me Derek. I love you.''

Teddy smiled sadly at her words and wheeled Derek out of the room, hoping to deliver Meredith and everyone in the hospital who was close to Derek, good news…

* * *

Barely half an hour later, the nurses wheeled Derek back into his room, followed by doctor Altman who looked content, holding the stack of films in her hands.

''And?'' Meredith asked nervously.

''Good news'' Teddy smiled. ''His scans are clear. The contusion is gone and we've successfully decreased the hypoxemia. ''

''Thank you doctor Altman.'' she smiled as tears glistened in her eyes. Tears of pure happiness, and both Mark and Cristina smiled brightly as the good news was heard.

''Well, I didn't do anything. He did.'' Teddy smiled as she looked at Derek. ''We've just helped him.''

''Still, thank you doctor Altman'' Meredith smiled. She couldn't suppress her happiness as Derek was finally going to wake up.

''Well, I'm gonna lower his sedation now and once I've done that, he will wake up within the hour'' Teddy explained as Meredith grabbed Derek's hand again and squeezed it tightly.

''I'm confident that he will be able to breathe on his own once we've taken the tube out, but we're prepared if he's not, of course. But don't worry Meredith, I'm sure he will do just fine'' she smiled as she lowered the sedation and checked all the monitors and wires again.

''I have to check up on some other patients now but page me immediately if he's starting to wake up, okay?'' she said as she smiled at the three of them and walked out of the room. Leaving a very happy Meredith behind…

* * *

It was 9 o'clock and Meredith sat on the stool beside his bedside, her hand still squeezing his every now and then, hoping he would give her a reaction. 20 minutes has passed since Teddy lowered the sedation but he was still not waking up. She knew it could take up to an hour but she couldn't wait anymore.

''He will wake up Mer, Teddy told it could take up to an hour for him to wake up'' Cristina said from her spot on the couch as she saw Meredith's tense and nervous posture.

''I know, I know. I just can't wait anymore.'' She replied as Mark smiled at her comment.

''He's just building up the tension'' Mark smiled as Meredith chuckled.

''Yeah, that sounds like Derek'' she smiled as she looked at his face again and suddenly saw the fluttering of his eyelids.

''Derek?'' Meredith questioned as she immediately stood up. Cristina and Mark following behind her.

''Page Altman!'' Mark said as he indeed saw the fluttering of his eyelids.

''Derek?'' Meredith questioned again as he was clearly having a hard time opening his eyes. ''Can you hear me? Give me a squeeze if you can, okay.''

''Good'' Meredith smiled as he squeezed her hand. Although weak, it was a squeeze, and that was all that mattered.

''Is he awake?'' Teddy asked as she walked into his room.

''He is'' Meredith smiled. ''He's just having a hard time opening his eyes.''

''That's okay'' Teddy replied as she went to stand beside Meredith, keeping a good eye on all the monitors for any significant change.

''Doctor Shepherd?'' she called. ''Can you open your eyes for me?''

Slowly he tried to open his eyes but he was having a hard time. ''Good'' Teddy replied as he slowly began to open his eyes. She dimmed the light above his head a bit and began preparing for the extubation.

''Hi'' Meredith smiled as tears began to fall from her eyes. She could finally look into his beautiful eyes again and she couldn't hold her tears at bay.

''Doctor Shepherd, are you in any pain?'' Teddy asked him and he shook no with his head.

''Good'' she smiled again and saw him looking at the tray with supplies beside her.

''All tests were clear. Your contusion is gone and we've successfully decreased the hypoxemia'' she started. ''It's still there, but not as bad as before. I also checked your blood gasses and your saturation. They're all stable so we will be able to extubate you now'' she smiled.

He looked between Meredith and doctor Altman, still a bit dazed.

''Derek sweetie, you've been out for 3 days but everything is okay now. You're doing great'' Meredith told him as he relaxed a bit more.

''Are you ready doctor Shepherd?'' Altman asked him and saw him nod.

''Okay, I will count to three and with three, you need to breath out as hard as you can, okay?''

He nodded again and mentally prepared himself for what was coming.

''Okay, on one… two… three!'' And on three, Derek breathed out as hard as he could.

''And… out!'' she said and quickly grabbed an oxygen mask as Derek struggled to breath.

''Long deep breaths'' she instructed as she securely placed the oxygen mask on his mouth and nose, all the while checking the monitors for any significant changes.

''You're doing great Der'' Meredith smiled as she stroked his hair.

''Sats are at 92'' Teddy interrupted. ''It's not great but that will probably go up a bit in the next few hours. Don't try to speak just yet okay? Your throat need to rest a bit and your lungs are still a bit weak.''

Derek just nodded and Meredith bend down to finally kiss him on the lips again. After 3 days not being able to, it felt good to finally feel his lips on hers again and when they parted, he slightly groaned, making Meredith chuckle.

''Hey man!'' Mark interrupted as he went to stand in front of the bed. ''It's good to see you again but don't you dare do this again.'' he smiled, and Derek smiled back. Glad to finally see Meredith and the people he loved again.

''Yeah, good to see you again McDreamy'' Cristina said, trying to sound uninterested in the fact that Derek was finally awake and stable now but everyone in the room knew that she was glad to see him awake again and Derek smiled at her comment, glad to see Cristina too.

''Doctor Shepherd-'' Teddy began but was immediately interrupted by Derek's hoarse voice.

''It's… Derek''

Teddy smiled at his answer despite the fact that he actually wasn't allowed to speak for the next few hours.

''Okay. Derek'' she smiled. ''As you already know, your lungs are still weak. I know you want to be home as soon as possible and I want you to. We all know that a patient recovers best at home and seeing you stable, I would like to send you home in a couple of days but only with one condition and that is that you need to wear a nasal cannula every night for a whole week. After that week, you come back here and we'II see how it goes. What do you think?'' she asked.

Derek nodded immediately and looked over at Meredith who nodded as well. ''That would be great doctor Altman'' she smiled.

''Well, it's a deal then!'' she smiled back. ''Doctor Torres will visit you tomorrow to check on your hand and ankle but I'm sure that won't form a problem in you going home in a couple of days''

''Great'' Meredith replied and doctor Altman excused herself, leaving them alone to enjoy each other as she went home for the day.

''I love you Der, I love you so so much'' she smiled as she bend down to kiss his lips again, intending to never let go again...


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note:_

_Here's chapter 8! Sorry it took me so long to update but school and life in general is pretty busy at the moment. Maybe some of you have noticed a pattern in my updates. I mostly update during vacation time. The reason behind that is simple: I have time to write in my vacation. Last year when I was still in High School, I knew the school, the way of teaching, the environment and my learning schedule. Now, being in college, I have a new school, a new way of teaching, a new environment and I still have to find a way how to learn my exams the best way possible. So it takes me almost twice as much time as usual. I have adapting issues, I know :p So I don't really know when I will be able to write chapter 9 but I hope as soon as possible. I don't want you guys to wait over a month so if I can, I always try my hardest to update within the month. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait! _

_Back to this story. I have to say I'm fairly proud at this one. I put around 12 hours of work in it and it's a bit longer than most of my chapters, so I hope you will like it! __ Another thing before you can go and read the chapter, from now on this story will mostly be MerDer centered but Mark and Lexie will make their appearance at least once every chapter and most likely more often like in this one. That means a little les Callie and Arizona and more MerDer and Slexie._

_For now I can only say, enjoy the chapter and please let me know what you thought of it afterwards. I would really appreciate some feedback. _

_Warm regards,_

_Isabel _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for my own fun._

**Chapter 8: Don't push it**

_''I love you Der, I love you so so much'' she smiled as she bend down to kiss his lips again, intending to never let go again..._

_3 days later…_

''Do we have everything now?'' Meredith asked him as she walked through the room again, not wanting to forget something.

''I think so'' he replied, smiling smugly as he looked at his wife. It was Friday, the day he was finally going home and he was sitting at the side of the bed, smiling at his wife who was going over the room again, obviously not wanting to leave something behind.

''Do you have your sweater, the one with the print of a lake on it?'' she asked as stopped searching for a moment and looked at him intensely.

''Uhmm… I don't know. But if we miss something now we will get it back, Mer.'' he replied. ''It's no big deal.''

She sighed and slumped down into the seat opposite of the bed. She looked at her watch and saw that it was already 1 PM. Alex would be driving them home in 15 minutes and Derek still needed to be discharged.

''Where's Teddy?'' Meredith asked impatiently. ''She should already be here. It's been 30 minutes.''

''She will come, Mer. She's probably just busy'' Derek replied as he smiled at his wife. He was going home today and nothing could keep him from smiling at that thought. Callie had cleared him 2 days ago and put a walking cast on his ankle and a normal cast for his hand with strict instructions not to strain his hand. He knew he would be bed ridden for most of the day but going home was so much better than staying here for another week that it didn't matter.

A knock on the door put him out of his thoughts and Teddy walked into the room, holding a back of supplies and an oxygen tank in hand.

''Sorry for the wait'' she apologized immediately. ''I got hold up with one of my patients.''

''That's okay'' Derek smiled. Teddy smiled back at him and set the oxygen tank on the ground, holding up the bag of supplies.

''I have your meds and supplies here and the oxygen tank for at home'' she said as Meredith stood up to take the bag from her. ''Thank you Teddy'' she smiled.

''So… now I only need to discharge you'' she said as she grabbed the forms and put her signature on the bottom of the page before giving it to Derek to do the same.

''Whose driving you guys home?'' she asked as she waited for Derek to return the forms.

''Alex'' Meredith smiled. ''His shift ended half an hour ago so..''

Derek handed Teddy the papers and locked eyes with Meredith who smiled brightly.

''Great'' Teddy smiled. ''Now, go home. I don't want to see you guys here before next Friday''

''Will do'' Derek smiled as Teddy walked out of the room.

''So, you're ready to go home now?'' Meredith smiled as she went to grab the wheelchair in the corner of the room.

''More than ready'' he replied and sunk down in the wheelchair without complaining.

''Alex is waiting for us in the car'' Meredith told him as she wheeled him out of the room and into the hallway where several doctors and nurses said their 'goodbyes' and 'get well soon.'

As they went through the double doors and into the relatively warm spring weather, Derek breathed in the fresh air and smiled. The blue sky was greeting him and he wanted nothing more than to take a walk with Meredith by the lake and just enjoy the beautiful weather, but he knew he wouldn't get that chance the next couple of days.

In the meantime Alex had stepped out of the car and was helping Meredith take the supplies and wheelchair into the car. ''We have everything?''

''Yes'' Meredith replied and walked towards Derek as Alex went to sit in the driver's seat.

''I'm okay, I can do it by myself'' Derek said as Meredith chuckled sarcastically at his answer.

''Yeah right mister'' she smiled. ''Let me help you'' she put one arm in front of him and one under his armpit to help him upright. A few groans escaped his mouth and a pained expression marked his face as he willed his body to move.

''You're doing great Der'' she coached him as she saw how much the movement pained him.

''Okay, take small slow steps now'' she said as she supported him towards the car door.

He swallowed past a lump in his throat as his whole body was screaming at him. He willed his legs to keep moving. He couldn't give in now. Meredith kept talking to him, kept coaching him but it wasn't relieving the pain that was making his movements look sick and his breathing look ragged.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief as he sat in the backseat and could finally lean his head against the seat cushion. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing as Meredith stepped into the car and sat beside him, stroking his hand as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

''We're ready'' Meredith said and Alex started the car. They were finally going home and although she knew it wouldn't be an easy week, they would get through it. Together…

* * *

A few miles from SGMWH, Mark put the key in the lock of his apartment. After Lexie was discharged from the hospital, he intended her to stay with him as she still needed some help before she could do things on her own again. Her pelvis was healing nicely and that was great, but walking was still very painful and the wheelchair was giving her the comfort she needed in order to heal properly.

''I welcome you to my mansion'' Mark smirked as he pushed the door open.

''Nice apartment, Mark'' Lexie smiled as she wheeled herself into his living room. ''It's quite big. Clean. It's beautiful.''

''I know, right? It's actually too big for only one person'' he winked as he gave her a tour through his house.

''I really like the bathroom'' Mark began as he stepped into his favorite place of the house. ''It has a really nice, steaming shower and a bath. I could stay there a great majority of the night.'' he smirked.

''I bet'' she replied smiling as he led her to the bedroom.

''So, this is the place where the magic happens'' he smirked as he winked at Lexie who rolled her eyes at his remark. ''Its position is great as the morning sun peaks through the blinds, making you feel like you're in heaven.''

Lexie was listening to him in awe as his beautiful facial features were making her swoon and his kindness smiling. It was great being with him and she didn't know why she didn't tell him sooner that she loved him. He was perfect, just perfect and she couldn't wait for the great time they would have together when she was fully healed from her injuries and they could do whatever they want. Going on trips or just watching a romantic movie together on a lazy day. That thought was making her feel like the happiest girl on earth and she led herself guide him towards the kitchen and living room where Mark chatted away happily about how great of a house he owned before seeing him slumping down on the couch. Worn out from the guide he gave her and the busy week they had both had.

''That was the best tour I've ever had'' Lexie giggled as Mark opened his eyes and turned his head towards the sound, smiling at her words.

''I'm glad you enjoyed it'' he smiled as he saw Lexie wheeling herself closer to him.

''Oh, I have put your crutches by the door if you need them''

''No, I'm fine'' she smiled as she laid a loving hand on his knee. ''My pelvis hurt a bit but I'm okay.''

''I'm sorry'' he said and laid his hand on top of hers that was laying on his knee.

''It's not your fault, Mark. Shit happens and it could have been worse.'' she replied as she saw his features change from pure happiness to sadness in just a few seconds and she could sense who he was thinking of.

''You're thinking about Derek, aren't you?'' she said as she saw him nod.

''Yeah.. I just, I don't know why the universe always goes to him when someone needs to be punished. It's just not fair. 5 years ago Meredith almost drowned, 3 years later he got shot and almost died, and now he's just as bad off. I don't get it Lexie, I really don't.'' he said, his features telling her the whole story.

''I know, Mark, I know…'' she said sadly, squeezing his hand. Hoping it would somehow make him feel a little less sad and understand.

''We can visit him tomorrow if you want. He was discharged this afternoon and the two of you can talk if you would like.'' She suggested. And she immediately saw his face lightning up a bit.

''I think that would be great.'' He smiled and leaned over to kiss her softly on the lips.

''Have I told you already that you're a great kisser'' Lexie giggled.

''I'm known for it'' he winked and pressed his lips once more on hers. Enjoying every second of having the love of his life next to him…

* * *

It was almost 5PM and Derek was sitting on the couch watching one of the many talk shows on television as Meredith came into the living room, holding a cup of pills and a bottle of water in her hands.

''Here, take these'' she said and watched him gulp down the pills immediately.

Although his ankle and hand were doing much better he was still feeling a lot of pain so he welcomed the pills with open arms.

''How late is Cristina gonna bring Zola again?'' he asked as he focused on stretching his fingers again to try and keep them flexible and preserve a good blood flow.

''She gets off at 6 so I think around 6:30.'' she answered, looking at his strained face as groan escaped his mouth.

''Everything okay?'' Meredith approached cautiously, not wanting to disturb him.

''I'm fine'' he snapped back but immediately regretted it.

''I'm sorry. I just.. I hate this'' he sighed loudly, putting his arm back in the sling.

''I know..'' she sighed, taking a seat next to her husband and taking his good hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. ''I know it's hard. I can't say I went through the same because I didn't, but I know what you're feeling. When I was little, my dad got fierce when I forgot to clean the kitchen after he came home from the bar and he threw me against the wall. I broke my arm and couldn't do much for a whole month. I know it's not the same but I mean I get your frustration.''

''Did you report him?'' Derek asked, intrigued by her story.

''No. He was my dad and I just couldn't.'' she replied shrugging. ''But the point is, that in the end, everything is gonna be okay. No matter how hard or how painful the road has been. We will get through this together.'' She said as she gave his hand another tight squeeze and tears began pooling in his eyes at his wife's words. He still got amazed every time she showed how strong she really is and every minute he loved his wife just a little bit more.

''You're amazing you know that'' he smiled as he pressed his lips on hers again. Releasing all his frustration and stress and just enjoyed that special moment.

''I am?'' she questioned.

''Yes you are, Meredith Grey'' he smiled as he let his lips feel hers again. Remembering the night she first amazed him…

* * *

''What are you making?'' Lexie asked curious as she wheeled herself into the kitchen. It was nearly 6PM and Mark told her he was making her something special. Like a 'welcome home' present, and she couldn't suppress her curiosity.

''You just wait and see'' he smirked. ''But I promise you that you will like it.''

''Is it Italian? Spaghetti? Lasagna?'' she guessed as she tried to catch a glimpse of his features telling her she was at least warm.

''I'm not gonna say anything Lex'' he laughed.

''Fine'' she pouted and wheeled herself towards the couch. She then grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

''I will call you when it's done'' he smiled as he grabbed the already prepared chicken out of the fridge, ready to put it in the oven.

''It better be good, Mark'' she said as she kept her eyes on the screen while Mark turned around and smiled at her remarks.

''Only the best for you, Lex'' he smiled and put the delicious looking chicken in the oven.

25 minutes later, the alarm on the oven went off and Mark put the chicken and potatoes onto the table.

''Wow, that's looking delicious, Mark!'' Lexie chimed in.

''Hold on. Before we enjoy the chicken, I have to grab something else.'' he smiled as he went back into the kitchen and put something onto a plate. She couldn't quite see what it was but she guessed it had to be something special by the way he was trying to keep it a secret from her.

''I have another surprise for you.'' he smiled as he set the plate onto the table.

''What is it?'' she asked curious as she stared at the round, weird-looking brown balls on the plate.

''It's a bitterbal, a Dutch snack. Bought it from the foreign food shop down the street'' Mark smiled as he grabbed one of the plate and gave it to her.

''Here, taste it. It tastes delicious.'' he smiled as he then laughed at the face Lexie was giving him.

''Oh come on'' he said. ''Don't give me that face. You haven't tasted it yet. You like ragout don't you?''

''Yeah, I do'' she said and give him a face before she carefully brought the ball to her mouth and took a bite. Slowly chewing at the little piece as Mark watched her in enjoyment.

''And? How does my ball taste?'' he smirked, and Lexie almost chocked in the food, swallowing it quickly before throwing a bitterbal at him.

''That's not funny, Mark'' she smiled as he laughed at her before taking a bitterbal himself.

''No, really. How did it taste?'' he asked her as he swallowed the food down.

''Great, actually.'' she smiled as she took the rest of the ball into her mouth and swallowed contently.

Mark laughed at the sight and began cutting the chicken. ''You still hungry for the rest?'' he asked as she nodded immediately. Smiling contently as he put a piece of it on her plate. ''You want some potatoes too?''

''Yes, please'' she smiled as he grabbed the plate with potatoes before grabbing a wine bottle out of the wine cabinet and filling their glasses.

''I love you, Mark Sloan'' Lexie smiled.

''I love you too, Lexie Grey. More than you would ever know'' he smiled back. Enjoying every second of being in the same room with the love of his life who was giving him all he needed in life. Love…

* * *

The sun slowly disappeared behind the clouds and it was getting dark. Meredith and Derek both sat down at the dinner table, enjoying their dinner when the bell ringed.

''Sit down, I'II get it'' Meredith said when Derek tried to make a move to go to the door.

''Cristina!'' she said when she saw her person standing at the front door, their little bundle of joy in her arms. ''And look who we have here..'' she smiled as she took her little girl from her arms.

''She was a very sweet child'' Cristina said as she stepped inside.

''On the way home?'' Meredith laughed at her friends remark.

''Yes. She didn't cry, didn't move, just sat still so I could drive in peace.'' she said. No emotion of any kind visible on her face when she spoke.

''So you were good for auntie Cristina, huh?'' she smiled to the toddler as she took her into the living room where Derek still sat at the dinner table, waiting to see their little girl whom he hasn't seen in days since he was hospitalized.

''Hi sweetie!'' Derek smiled as Meredith put the toddler into his lap. ''Did you have a nice day?'' he asked her. But she didn't have attention for him as she immediately began exploring the cast on his arm and the sling it was in.

''Boo-boo?'' she asked, and Derek nodded. ''Yes, daddy got a bit hurt but he's okay now, sweetie.'' he smiled as he grabbed some crayons from the table and a piece of paper and began drawing with Zola, who eagerly participated. Giggling as Derek drew a monkey with two tales.

''How are things with Owen?'' Meredith asked Cristina as they stood in the kitchen. A steaming cup of coffee in their hands.

''I've talked to him and he apologized.'' She shrugged. ''I think we're good again.''

''After all he's done to you'' Meredith frowned. ''You take him back immediately? Why?''

''Because he's Owen, Mer'' she said. ''He's…-''

''A jerk'' Meredith interrupted. ''Cristina, you can't pretend he didn't cheat on you because he did. Do you forgive him that easily, really?''

''No, but I..'' she tried to form words but she couldn't find any. Meredith was right. She shouldn't have forgiven him that easily but he's Owen and for some reason he has a way of making her feel soft, and forgivable.

''You should talk to him again, Cristina. He needs to feel that he wasn't right what he did to you.''

''Okay, I will, okay'' she said, wanting nothing more than the subject to change.

''How's Arizona?'' Meredith changed the subject as she saw that her person didn't wanna talk about it anymore.

''Better, physically.'' she said and Meredith sighed. She had seen how her leg had looked in the forest and she had known by then that they most likely wouldn't be able to save the leg. Cutting it off was the best and only option left.

''Jerry died this evening.'' Cristina continued.

''Oh..'' Meredith said, shocked. They all knew his chances of survival were very slim from the beginning, but he had fought back and was ever since hanging on.

''It was a matter of time, really'' Cristina said. ''But it's sad, I know''

''Yeah…'' Meredith sighed, setting her empty mug on the sink.

''Well, I think I'II go now.'' Cristina spoke, walking over to Zola who was still happily drawing animals with Derek. ''Bye ZoZo'' she said.

''Bye aunie Cris'' she waved at her as Cristina grabbed her jacket and walked towards the front door.

''See you tomorrow?'' Meredith asked.

''Yeah, think so'' she replied. ''See you tomorrow!''

'''Bye!'' she said and closed the door behind her before joining her family at the kitchen table…

* * *

A few hours later, Meredith walked into their bedroom. She had just put Zola to bed and had cleaned up the living room a bit when she heard a loud noise coming from the bathroom.

''Derek..?'' she questioned, worried.

''I'm okay.'' he replied immediately, but he sounded breathless and in pain, letting all the alarm bells in Meredith's head ring. So she quickly opened the opened the bathroom door, seeing Derek lying on the floor with his head down.

''Derek, what… what happened?'' she asked worried as she quickly went over to him and tried to get a view of his face.

''I slipped and fell'' he replied. The embarrassment evident in his voice, making her eyes water.

''Where does it hurt, Derek?'' she asked him, as she tried to assess his injuries.

''I'm sorry, Mer'' he apologized as he looked her in the eyes. ''I should have called you or used the wheelchair, but I thought I could do it without help.''

''It's okay.'' she smiled softly. '' I just wanna make sure you didn't hurt yourself.''

''I'm fine'' he breathed. Not wanting to make such a big deal out of it. Although he knew that this was a big deal for her, especially if he got hurt being barely home for a day.

''I'II grab the wheelchair. Don't move, okay?'' she said as she sprinted back to their bedroom.

A few seconds later she wheeled the chair inside and kneeled in front of him again.

''Derek, can you stand?'' she asked as she put his arm around her neck.

''Yeah, I think so'' he said as he slowly tried to stand.

''Okay, slowly.. slowly'' she guided him.

A few grunts escaped his lips as he slowly sunk down in the chair and closed his eyes. Letting his body recover from the initial shock.

As Meredith wheeled him back into their bedroom, she grabbed his clothes and laid them on the bed.

''Derek, do you need help changing?'' she asked, although she knew it shouldn't even be a question. He needed her help. He needed help with almost everything and she knew he was embarrassed by it.

''Yeah…'' he sighed, staring blankly ahead as she changed him into his pajamas.

''Derek, look at me'' Meredith said when she was done changing him into his pajamas and cupped his chin in her hands, willing him to look her in the eye.

''It will be okay. Everything will be okay. Next week they will free you from the walking cast you'II be able to do much more things. We can go to the park together with Zola, and ride the ferry.'' she said as she smiled softly at him.

''This is not permanent. You will get better, Derek.''

''I know Mer. ''he sighed. ''It's just.. I hate this. I can't do anything on my own. I'm a fucking invalid.'' he snapped, making her sigh.

''You're not, Derek. You're my husband, the love of my life and Zola and this child's daddy'' she replied, laying a hand on her belly. ''You're everything but an invalid.''

He stopped dead in his tracks at her words and looked her in the eye. Seeing her pain. He knew she was right but he just couldn't see it. So much had happened to him over the past few years. He just couldn't see what she saw anymore and it pained him to only just notice that.

''I'm sorry, Mer… I-''

''Don't apologize'' she interrupted. ''I know it isn't easy.'' she said as she grabbed the oxygen tank standing by his bedside.

''Let's just focus on the happy things in life, okay?'' she smiled softly as she laid her hand on her belly again. ''We finally have our dream house, a wonderful job, Zola, and another beautiful baby on the way.'' she smiled.

''We do'' he smiled back and leaned forward to kiss his wife on the lips before placing his hand on her belly.

''Hello little one. It's your daddy here. '' he smiled as she giggled at him. ''And he loves you very much.''

''We do'' she smiled back as she enjoyed the moment between the three of them. Making what happened beforehand hurt a little less.

''Let's go to bed'' she smiled to him and he nodded. ''Great idea.''

She changed herself in one of his shirts and some pajama pants before hooking him up to the oxygen tank.

''Comfortable?'' she asked him as she had hooked him up to the oxygen tank.

''It won't ever get comfortable but it's fine, Mer'' he smiled softly at her as they lay in bed together and she returned the smile, although a small one.

She hated it to see him like that. Vulnerable and hurt. But she reminded herself that he would get better and that in just a few weeks' time he would be the old Derek again. Laughing and joking, but most of all, making her feel like she was the most beautiful girl in the world…


End file.
